An unexpected inheritance
by Tania Hylian
Summary: Modern AU. Anna never expected her uncle to give her all of his possessions, she never expected to really find a secret passage on the old house, and definitely she didn't expect to find a room covered with ice at the end of it. But here she was in front of a chained gorgeous girl that apparently came along with the rest of the inheritance. Elsanna, but they are not sisters.
1. Secret passages

**Chapter 1:**

It had been only one week since her uncle and aunt had passed away. They were the only family Anna had left since her parent's death on a ship wreck seven years ago, but she never visited them, not since she was a little girl. However, the notary had called her yesterday telling her that them had named her their heir and that she had to go to their house (well, actually it was a mansion) to receive the inheritance.

All her life she had being living in a small department at the capital of Arendelle, so now that she was seeing the big and luxurious mansion in the middle of the forest, near the North Mountain she was very impressed, mostly because now it was going to be hers, just as the millions of dollars the notary was just telling her about. It was like a dream come true, now that she had finished the career of photographer at the university, she didn't have to search for a job, she could just expend her time taking photos as a hobby, just as she always had wanted.

Formalities were made, papers were signed and soon the heritage was hers. Anna walked through the big house impressed by all she saw, since the big garden with a little pond and ducks, to the great room all covered by paintings, including one of Joan de Arc, with which she talked.

It was nearly midnight, but she wasn't tired yet, she never went to bed early, even less if she was excited because of something, just like now, but she was sure she had already explored all the mansion… or maybe not, after all it was a very old house, perhaps it had some secret passages?

She started searching. First the kitchen, to make sure there wasn't any secret room full of chocolate and pancakes. She wasn't that lucky, but indeed there was a little chocolate hided inside a jar on the cupboard. She ate the half and kept the other inside her pink hoodie's pocket.

She then searched at the library, hoping there were a secret entrance hidden behind a bookcase, as in the movies. She moved every book on every bookcase attached in the wall, but nothing happened, no secret entrances.

She kept searching for two hours. She searched at the ballroom, at her uncle's bedroom, at the great hall, at the living room, at the aisles, but she found nothing.

Finally Anna gave up, and started walking to her bedroom to try to catch some sleep, when suddenly she passed in front her uncle's studio. She hadn't opened that door because it was locked, but she had found a key at the library and now she was thinking maybe it could be the key for this room, so she pushed it into the clench and rotated it.

The door opened with a loud squeak, which made her shiver, but she instantly told herself that there was nothing to be afraid, it was just a sound produced by a door with very old hinges… a very scary sound, just as if it was _meant_ to be scary.

She entered the room and pushed the switch to turn the lights on, but they didn't. However, the moonlight was very luminous that night so she could see everything in that room. There was a window with sight to the garden covered by thin white curtains, a wooden desk covered by papers and books, and, on the opposite side, a painting representing a man with copper hair and mustache (It must be her uncle, he was very similar to her father), a woman with brown hair and beautiful ice blue eyes and… what was that? The painting's right bottom corner was completely black, as if it would have been burned. Anna walked to the painting and looked at it closely. She could see a little hand wrapped in her aunt's big one, but the owner of this little hand probably had been painted on the burned side of the picture.

Anna suddenly remembered that her uncle had a daughter called Elsa, just three years older than her, but she had died before Anna could meet her, at the young age of five years. Probably this picture represented the happy family they had been once, but the pain of losing their only daughter may have made them burn the painting.

She passed her fingers through the picture, touching her uncle's face, his body and then her aunt's dress, her neck… there she stopped. The neckless she wore had a hole in the middle, impossible for the eyes to see, but possible for the fingertips to feel… maybe a keyhole? But it had to be a very small key, probably with the size of a spire… A spire! Maybe she could open it with a spire, she had seen some of them in her aunt's room.

Anna walked, well she almost ran, to her aunt's room, no too far from where she was, opened the door and started searching a spire. She took a chair, put it in front of the closet, climbed it and grab the wooden cage that was over it. Then she fall from the chair trying to get down of it.

The cage fall as well making a loud crash and cracking badly. Anna got up and grab the cage seeing the precious wooden item terribly broken.

_Good job Anna. It's your first day here and you have already broke something because of your clumsiness… and probably this cage was very expensive, the wood seem like mahogany_.

Anna started reprimanding herself because of her clumsiness while she was watching the results of the disaster, when she saw that the fissures on the cage reveled a secret compartment on it. Separated from the place where sewing things were kept by a wooden table, there was a little space with only something that seemed like a pin.

She took the little item and walked to the light to see it better. It wasn't a normal pin: its head was snowflake-shaped, and it was totally plane with irregular boards, it actually seemed like a key.

_Could it be? _Anna thought _Could it open the painting's clench?… well if it is actually a clench, and not only a hole._

She exited the door, walked to her uncle's studio, reached to the painting and introduced the small key on the neckless' hole, then she turned it and the painting opened, as if it were a small door, reveling a cubic hole in the wall with a lamp and a lever on it.

Anna took the lamp and turned it on, it actually had batteries. Then she inhaled deeply preparing herself for what could happen when she pulled the lever. She pulled it. The wall in which the picture was hanging cracked loudly reveling an entrance with the size of a door.

She took courage and walked through it, with the lantern in her right hand. It was a dark stairway, which descended for meters and meters before finally turned into a passage. It was dark (the only light was her lantern) and damp, Anna was sure she was now walking under the mansion.

She pointed her light to the walls and saw strange symbols grabbed in the stone, together with messages saying things like "The death is at the end of the way", "Many years of isolation" and "Beware the frozen heart". Anna gulped loudly and thought that maybe she should return to her bedroom and come back other time, better if it was during the day. However, she meditated, probably the passage was as dark and scary during the day and she was already there, so she kept going.

Anna started shaking, with each step she made the more cold she felt, and suddenly she regret no bringing a jacket with her, but it was summer, she never thought it could be this cold during summer in any place.

Suddenly, when Anna thought she was going to catch frostbite, she found a door completely made by iron. She took the doorknob and instantly pull her hand back, it was so cold it was almost impossible to touch, but she had come this far and nothing could have stop her from open that door and placate her curiosity.

She grabbed the doorknob again letting a little squeal scape from her mount and opened the door.


	2. The girl in chains

**Chapter 2:**

When she opened the door she imagined the things that could be behind it. Maybe a big refrigerator full of ice-cubes for the hot days? Or a cold room where her aunt used to keep the vegetables? (That idea was boring) Perhaps an ice rink, or a place for snowball fights? None of her thoughts was nearly close to the reality, and nothing could have ever prepared her for what was behind that door.

First she didn't see anything. No ice-cubes, no ice rinks and no snowball fights. Then she saw ice peaks rising from the floor, the walls and the ceiling, and snowflakes floating in the middle of the air. Then she saw her.

There was a slim figure lying on the cold ground. She was wearing a thin dress, which probably had been white one day, but now it was dirty, stained by grey and brown spots and had irregular holes here and there. Her feet were bare, without any shoes or even socks. Her skin was fair, but it wasn't in a better condition than her dress. Her legs were large and very thin, just as her arms, which were wrapped around her protectively. Her hair was almost white and tied in a single french braid. Her face was…

_OMG! Her face is beautiful, and together with the rest of her body, it makes her the most gorgeous thing that have ever exist in the planet, no, the universe! _

Anna looked the gorgeous girl at the eyes, which were wide opened with terror.

—Don't worry—Anna said—I-I'm Anna… and I don't want to hurt you, you don't have to be afraid.

Anna tried to reach to her, but the girl moved back trying to get away from her, causing a sound like a jingle. Anna pointed to the place where the sound came from, seeing a pair of shackles (Or maybe it's better to say metal cages?) wrapped around the girl's hands and connected to the ground by a chain.

Anna let out a gasp. This beautiful girl, not too many years older than herself, was prisoned on a room probably as cold as the north pole with no more clothes than an old, and clearly not warm, dress, with nothing to eat or drink and had been there for only God knows how much time, and she looked very scared, almost terrified, as if she was expecting Anna to hurt her.

Anna walked to her, and she again tried to get away, but the shackles didn't allow her. Anna kneeled down in front of the girl and, looking at her eyes said:

—Please don't be afraid, I want to help you. I'm getting you out of here, OK?—The girl just kept staring at her with terrified eyes.—is there anything I can do for you that convince you I don't wanna make you any harm?—Suddenly the girl's gut started growling.—Oh! Are you hungry?—the girl shook her head, but there her gut growled more loudly—I think I have a chocolate over here, do you like chocolate?—Anna spoke to her with a gentile smile while she searched for the chocolate in her pockets, then she found it and handled it to her—here, have it. I ate the half but there's still enough for a snack, once I get you out of here you can have a real meal.

The girl looked at the chocolate with longing, but then she looked at Anna, as if she were afraid she were just teasing her. Seeing it, Anna took the foil off and place the tip of the chocolate in the girl's mouth, she opened it and started eating the sweet snack, savoring it, and closing her eyes, her face saying it was the most delicious thing she had ever ate. Anna smiled, happy for seeing her enjoying it.

—You like it?—Anna said—When I get you out of here I'm gonna buy tons of chocolates and we'll eat them together.

Anna grabbed her cellphone and walked to the door, searched for the police number and pressed the call button. She tell them there was someone imprisoned on a secret entrance on her uncle's house, gave them the address and the instructions to get to the secret room, then she hang off and walk to the girl.

—I called the police, they should be arriving soon, they will free you. I really don't want to leave you alone, but I'm freezing down here. I'm going to grab some sweaters and blankets and I'll be right back, OK?

The girl nodded slowly, there was doubt in her eyes, but Anna gave her a reassuring smile and run through the passage, then up the stairs, then across the house until she was at her bedroom. Up there, with the electric lights, the warm summer air and her familiar belongings scattered all over the room, all what had happened the last hour just seemed strange and impossible, like a dream, but the cold that still lingered in her body told her everything was real.

While she was taking her warmest clothes and blankets, Anna wondered how was it possible for a human to be in that room with only a dress for more than two hours without dying because of the cold. Suddenly a knock in the door interrupted her thoughts.

She ran towards the door and opened it seeing that two cops had finally arrived. She greeted them and led them to her uncle's studio, then she showed them the little key, the hole in the picture, the lever and the secret stairway. They took photos of it all and then they followed her through it, till they arrived to the door, which now was opened.

When they got in Elsa was sitting on the floor with her eyes looking downwards blankly, but when she heard their steps, she turned her head up and her eyes went wide as she saw the two cops.

—Don't worry, they are going to help you—Anna said—you have nothing to be afraid.

—Yeah, we are not going to make any harm on you—said one of the cops, who was tall, muscular and blonde—I'm Kristoff, and this is my mate, Sven. We are cops, we live to help the people, you know?

Sven, a tall and thin man with brown hair and a very populated beard, brought up his hand and shook it to greet her while he smiled. The girl nodded, relaxing herself just a little bit, but with fear still present in her eyes.

Kristoff and Sven, meanwhile, started to examine the chains and shackles, looking for a way to get her out of them. The girl shifted uncomfortably at the closeness of these two strangers and Anna noticed it, so she sited at her side and, putting a hand in her shoulder (the girl's skin was pretty cold, but it was to be expected because of the room's temperature), told her:

—Calm down, I'm here with you.

However, the girl shivered at the contact with Anna's hand and got out of her reach, but at least she stopped being _that_ nervous about the cops.

—The shackles' clench is very difficult to break—Said Kristoff, after taking some time looking at it—I think we'll have to cut the chains and then see what we can do with the shackles in a place with more light… and less ice—he shivered, and Anna was glad she had put all those sweaters on herself before coming down again.

Sven took a pair of pliers to break padlocks and, after many trials made by both of them, they were able to break the chain. Then Anna helped Elsa up, despite the shivering her touch caused on her, and gently led her trough the passage and the stairs to the house.

When they passed the secret door on her uncle's studio, the girl closed her eyes, clearly disgusted because of the "excessive" brightness of dawn. Probably she hadn't seen any light but the lantern's in a long time.

_Wait… Down? I've been awake all night? I mean, sure it isn't the first time, but normally it's because of homework or a party, not searching secret passages in my own house… well, of course I haven't searched for secret passages in my house before, I lived in a small apartment, not a big mansion many hundreds of years old… wait, am I rambling in my head? God, not sleeping really is bad for mental health._

—So, I'm going to search for some wire and see if I can open the shackles—Kristoff got out of the house.

Meanwhile Anna led the girl to her room and made her take a sit on a chair, then Kristoff came back with various pieces of wire and came near the girl to force the clench, but she took her hands near her body, trying to hide them.

—Hey, it's OK—Anna told her—They are only trying to take the shackles off of your hands—The girl just looked at Anna with scared eyes, as if she was begging her to tell them not to do so—I think she doesn't want you to free her hands—Anna spoke to the cops.

—That's ridiculous—Sven exclaimed—we have to do it. Kristoff, hold her hands, so I can open the shackles' lock.

Kristoff did so. The girl tried to put resistance, but she was too weak and Kristoff was very strong, so soon Sven had taken off the shackles. When he did so, they noticed the rime that had been formed inside them and around the girl's hands. Then they all stayed staring at her forearms, where there were scars forming words; in the left arm they said "Conceal", and in the right "Don't feel". Because of their astonishment towards the scars, the girl was finally able to free her hands from Kristoff's grab and instantly hided them under her legs.

—Anna—Kristoff said after a moment of silence—We have to make some questions to both of you, but she isn't in a very good condition, so why don't you take her to the kitchen and give her something to eat while we talk to you?

—Fine, I'll do that. Come with me… err… sorry, I haven't ask you your name—Anna suddenly felt kind of rude for not asking her that the moment she found her, but the girl didn't say anything and Anna started wandering if she couldn't speak—… whatever, I'll make a sandwich or you.

Anna tried to grab the girl's right hand, but she refused and got up by her own, then she followed her to the kitchen with her hands attached to her chest looking at them anxiously. Anna couldn't stop thinking this was a very weird behavior, it was as if she were afraid of her own hands.

The forth of them arrived to the kitchen and Anna made sandwiches for all so they could have breakfast. Meanwhile, the girl got to the sink, where she grabbed a pair of blue gloves to wash dishes and shoved her hands on them, instantly being less tense. Anna noticed it and supposed she had some kind of phobia to have her hands without anything to cover them.

After Anna finished making the sandwiches all of them started eating, even if the girl at first didn't want to and seemed insecure when she took the first bite. Then, while she ate the sandwiches desperately, Kristoff and Sven started making Anna some questions about how she found the girl. She gladly told them everything, without letting a single detail out of the story, from her arrival to the house the previous morning to the moment she opened the door to them.

Then they returned their gaze at the girl, who was now staring at the table where the sandwiches had been before she ate them. She seemed distant, as if she were immersed in her own thoughts so deeply nothing could bring her back to the real world, but the cops had to make some questions to her, so Kristoff started asking.

—So… what's your name?—The girl just kept staring blankly at the table.—Are you mute?—Again she didn't answered. Kristoff sighed.

—How many time have you been down there?—Sven questioned, but she didn't give any sign that she were listening —who put you in that cold room? who wrote those words in your forearms?—This time there wasn't any answer either.

—Look, guys—Anna interfered—I think that maybe she is in shock and she won't answer any of your questions, so why don't you come back another day? I promise I'll keep her safe and I'll try to make her talk, OK?

Kristoff sighed, then looked at the girl who was still staring blankly at the table. Concluding he probably wasn't going to get any information from the victim, he turned to Anna and told her:

—Fine, we'll leave, but she is coming with us.

The temperature instantly dropped a few degrees, but none of them seemed to notice it.

—W-what? No!

—Look, Anna—Sven said—She is not in the best conditions, she needs to see a doctor and we need a psychiatrist to evaluate her state, besides we have to check if someone is searching for her. She'll be in good hands at the Transitory Refuge for Missing People, you can be sure of that.

The temperature descended even more, making Anna shiver. _Stupid air conditioning, I should call someone to repair it once these cops leave… _without_ her._

—No, I'm sorry but I can't let you take her there.—was Anna's immediate response—didn't you see how terrified she was when we got into that room downstairs? She is obviously uncomfortable around people, so it wouldn't be a wise decision to throw her into a building full of strangers.

—Maybe you are right, but the medical attention…

—You can send a doctor and a psychologist, or I can get them on my own, I don't care, but she's staying here.

—Fine—Kristoff sighed—I think we can make an exception because of her condition, but you'll have to sign a document taking the full responsibility of her well-being and accepting to put her in the hand of her family if someone reclaim her.

—OK, give me that document.

—We'll send someone with the document, together with the doctor and the psychiatrist. They'll probably arrive today evening ¿OK?

—Yes. Something more?

—We need to take her some photos of her actual condition, to make sure you don't make her any harm… just a formality—He added when he saw the indignant face Anna had made.

Sven took out a digital camera and took some pictures of Elsa, which was kind of difficult given that she didn't want to get up from her chair, nor to take the gloves off. They decided not to push her too much for now, so they grabbed the shackles and headed to the entrance to leave. Anna went with them to say goodbye.

—Anna, we'll come back in two days—Kristoff said before getting into the patrol—It's our duty to find out who did this to her, so we'll be asking her about her past. Please prepare her.—Anna nodded

—And try to find out who shut her in that room.—Sven added.

—Fine, see you, guys.

Anna closed the door and return to the kitchen realizing that the events of the night before had changed her life forever.

**Note: I'm sorry if this chapter isn't so good, I promise the next will be better.**

**I want to thank all of you for your reviews, favorites and follows, really, it inspires me to write more :D**

**Also, this is the first story I've wrote in English, so if you see any mistakes fell free to tell me.**

**Wait for the next chapter ;)**


	3. Bath

**This chapter is full of fluff, however there are some sexual themes (nudity and Anna's pervert thoughts XD). **

* * *

**Chapter 3.**

Anna laid her back on the door, placed one hand on her face and close her eyes. She felt as if the entire weight of world were standing on her shoulders, partially because she hadn't had any sleep, and probably she wouldn't be able to in a while, but mostly because of the great responsibility she had just acquired.

Of course she didn't regret anything, deep inside she knew it was the right thing to do, but there was still a doubt; she could barely take care of herself, so how was she supposed to take care of that scared girl who seemed to be mute, didn't like to be touched and clearly had had some traumatic experiences in the past? Even if she wasn't in that room anymore, the girl was still shut-in, but inside herself, not wanting to get out, nor letting anyone get in. How was she supposed to help her?

She decided not to wonder in that too much and just go with her, they had to be prepared for the evening's meeting with the doctor and the psychiatrist.

Anna arrived to the kitchen and saw her, still sitting in the chair with a lost stare, as if she were unaware of her surroundings. Anna walked till she was in front of her, knelt down trying to meet her gaze and spoke trying to choose her words carefully.

—I'm gonna be honest with you because it's the least you deserve. I don't have any idea of how to take care of you… I don't know how to help you, I don't know what you need, what you want, I-I don't even know if you want to stay here or if you had preferred to go to that place for missing people… but I promise you that I'll do my best.

She didn't seemed to be listening, she didn't even look at her.

—I'll do my best—Anna repeated—but you have to help me, you'll have to do your best too if we want this to work. The people of government will be arriving here in some hours, and we need to convince them that I can take care of you and that you will be fine with me, otherwise they may take you to this place full of strangers. Do you want that?

The girl finally seemed to get into the real world and shook her head.

—Good… so, first of all, I need to know your name. If you don't tell me, then I'll give you a nickname. You have three seconds…1…2…2 and a half…2 and three quarters…and 3—the girl didn't say anything in any of the long spaces Anna left, nor when she finally said three. Anna sighed disappointed, she really wanted to know her name and to hear her voice. It was probably as beautiful as the rest of her—Fine, then I'll just call you… Snowflake. I think it make sense, since, you know, I found you in a room covered of ice and snow… do you like it?

She nodded, but her face was expressionless, so Anna couldn't tell if she was lying or not.

—OK, so… Snowflake, you need to take a bath, and then I'll find you some clothes so you'll be presentable for our guests. Follow me, I'll take you to the bathroom.

She stood up and followed Anna across the hall till they arrived to a white door with flowers painted on it. Anna opened it and led her in, then told her to wait and take off her clothes while she went to turn on the boiler, so there would be hot water. Anna returned and opened the door to see Snowflake hadn't undressed herself.

—I told you to take off your clothes. You can't take a bath dressed.—she just stood there and looked at Anna with pleading eyes—No, you can't. Come on, it's not as if I were going to rape you once I see you undressed.

_Tough I would like it. _

Anna opened the faucet to fill the tub. Then, seeing Snowflake wasn't going to strip by herself, she approached the girl and grabbed the fabric of her dress by the shoulders pulling it down, but Snowflake wrap her arms around her chest tightly not allowing the dress to go down. Anna was getting mad, this girl wasn't putting the things any easier to her, so she grabbed her right arm and tore it apart taking the sleeve off the limb. Then she repeated the action on the other arm despite Snowflake's struggle. The temperature descended again very fast, but not too many grades, so one could still feel the warmness of summer.

The dress went down revealing the completely naked (save for the gloves) figure of a goddess. Anna couldn't help but stare. She had long legs, very nice hips, and a pair of well-sized breasts. Even if she was too skinny (probably because she hadn't eat well in a long time) and her bones were a little too much marked under her skin, her body was still very, _very_ sexy. Anna could feel her cheeks blushing.

_I think I can die happy right now. She is so gorgeous… I must be dreaming, a girl like this can't really exist. I want to touch her breasts, they seem so soft… Wait, wtf Anna?! What are you thinking? You are such a pervert._

Probably Anna wouldn't have stopped thinking inappropriate things if she hadn't seen the large bruises and scars which covered her fair and perfect skin. The bruises were mainly at her torso and arms and were getting a greenish color. The scars were tiny and just a few so they weren't easy seen, unless you were watching carefully and very closely… just like Anna.

Anna realized she had shorten the distance between them and that it hadn't gone unnoticed by Snowflake, who was now looking away from her and trying to hide her body with her hands, clearly feeling uncomfortable with Anna's stare and closeness. Anna instantly jerked away, with her cheeks burning, and cleared her throat lowing her gaze to the floor.

—S-sorry… I-I just…—Anna couldn't figure any excuse for her behavior, so she just pointed to the tub—You should get in, now that the water is still hot.

The other girl did just as Anna told her while she went to find a shampoo, a soap and a new loofah for her. Then she told Snowflake to wash her body with the soap and loofah while she helped her washing her hair. At first she didn't want Anna to touch her, and it wasn't a surprise (_She obviously noticed my pervert gaze a few moments ago, of course she doesn't want me near her_), but Anna was very stubborn and wanted to help the girl, so she took some water and spilled it on her blonde hair then massaging her scalp with a huge amount of shampoo, not caring when Snowflake tried to get away, failing thanks to the firm grip Anna had on her bangs.

_For god's sake! How much time have passed since this girl took a bath? Her hair is very dirty. It's going to take at least three washes to clean it._

Anna proceeded to untangle the braid and continued washing the hair until she was sure it was perfectly clean. Then she grabbed another loofah and a soap, and was going to wash her back, when she took her hair over her right shoulder and saw a huge scar, going from the left shoulder to the right one forming a single word: Monster.

Anna brought her left hand to her mouth trying to silence a gasp. She noticed how her eyes were starting to get wet with tears caused by the thought of how much pain the scar should have inflicted, not only fiscally, but also emotionally. Who could have done something so horrible to such a beautiful and harmless girl? Well… Anna had an idea of who had do it, though she couldn't admit it just so easily…

—S-snowflake—Said Anna once she found her voice—Who did this to you?—She didn't answered, the only sign showing she had listened being the sudden lack of movement.—…fine, you don't have to tell me if you don't feel like it, but whoever it was… he is the real monster, not you… maybe I've just meet you, but I can tell that you are not a monster. You could never be one.

Snowflake turned her head a little and smiled slightly at Anna, but the smile didn't reach her eyes and disappeared as soon as it came, telling Anna she hadn't believe her words, telling her she thought she was a monster. Anna sighed, but resolved she wasn't going to convince her so easily and continued washing her, trying to ignore Snowflake's muscles tensing whenever she touched her, probably because she didn't like human contact.

Sooner than Anna had expected, giving the hot weather of summer, the water went cold, actually not just cold, it reached a freezing temperature in seconds making Anna quickly taking her hands out of it. Snowflake, however, didn't seem to mind the sudden change. It was strange, but Anna supposed she had spent so much time in that ice box that the cold didn't affected her anymore.

—Fuck…—Anna murmured—what the hell is going on in this house? All this sudden changes of temperature are pretty annoying. I really have to have the air conditioning checked, together with the boiler.

Fortunately Anna had already finished washing her back, so she stood up and told her to get out of the tub. Then she grabbed a towel and gave it to her, telling her to wrap it around herself and to follow her to her room, where she was going to give her some clothes.

They arrived to Anna's messy room, where she told her to sit in the bed and then started throwing things from one side of the room to another, trying to find appropriate clothes for Snowflake. Finally, she approached her with some pants and t-shirts in one hand and an unopened package of underwear in the other. First she handled her the package.

—Here, they are new, I bought them just before coming here, so I haven't have the chance to use them. I give them to you, I can buy more latter.

Snowflake grabbed the package and then Anna showed her the clothes she had chosen, starting for red pants.

—Since you are taller, I chose those clothes that are a little big for me, tough this is a little old, do you like it?

The girl shook her head and Anna threw it to the floor showing her then another pants, this time white. Snowflake looked at it with interest and took it.

—Fine, so, what about these t-shirts?

Anna took one black t-shirt on her left hand, holding a green one in the other. Both were a little decolorized, but didn't seemed too much old, however Snowflake shook her head and looked to the left, then she pointed towards a light blue t-shirt with long sleeves laying on the floor.

—Oh, do you want this?—Anna asked grabbing it and showing it to her. The t-shirt looked very, _very_ old, and it had an image of a Snowman saying "Hi, I'm Olaf and I love warm hugs", but it was diffuse because of the use.—You have a good taste, this one was one of my favorites when I was in high school, it's from this cartoon called Frozen about a living snowman and his best friend, a reindeer… but I can't give it to you, It's not because I don't want to, It's just too old. You deserve better.

Snowflake gave a little nod, but her face was sad. Probably she really wanted that t-shirt.

_She seems disappointed… I can't do this to her, even if the t-shirt is old, if she likes it I should give it to her, who am I to deny her this little wish? _

—Fine, it you want it, take it—said Anna handing it to her—I don't use it anymore, so it's not a problem to me—she added when the girl shook her head.

The girl took it being a little unsure. Anna gave her a smile, then grabbed some clothes and told her:

—I'm going to take a bath. Meanwhile dress yourself and then you can do whatever you want, for example sleep, I assume you're tired. I'll be back in a while.

* * *

Anna took a bath, then she dressed herself with a green shirt and blue jeans, and brushed her hair, not bothering in tying it into her usual two braids. All she wanted to do after that was sleep, but she really needed to make the house look presentable for the meeting with the doctor and the psychiatrist. She still had about three hours before they arrive.

Anna decided it was better to first check what Snowflake was doing, so she headed to her room and opened the door to see her completely dressed and lying on the bed, curling with her hands wrapped at her chest which was going up and down slowly indicating she had fallen asleep. Anna kept staring for a while, the girl looked even more beautiful while sleeping… if that was even possible. Her face was relaxed and peaceful, not full of fear, anxiety and stress as it had seen it before. Anna smiled a little and then closed the door, deciding to let her sleep a little more, while she cleaned the house.

She first cleaned up the living room, where she would probably be greeting them and then the kitchen, where still were the dirty dishes from breakfast. She also picked the things she had left all around the house during the only day she had been there.

_I really must be more organized, it seems like I've been living here for at least one month… I could also hire someone to clean up, but later._

Anna continued like this during an hour before deciding she should wake up Snowflake, prepare her for the meeting and eat something. While she was walking towards her room, she passed by her aunt's and entered there to grab a pair of elegant white gloves she had found when she cleaned it to give them to Snowflake.

Then she arrived to her room, opened the door and walk to her bed. There she touched Snowflake lightly in her shoulder to wake her up. She immediately opened her eyes and looked around her seeming a little confused, as if she didn't know where she was, then she turned her gaze towards Anna and her eyes widened a while, but then she relaxed again.

—Hello—Said Anna—Sorry to wake you up, I know you're tired, but our guests will be arriving soon and I need to comb your hair and we need to eat before they arrive, OK?—Snowflake nodded and slowly sat on the bed using her gloved hands—I brought you another pair of gloves, they are more appropriate.

Anna handled them to Snowflake, but she didn't take them, she just looked at her hand as if she were afraid to take her actual gloves off. Anna sighed, this girl was afraid of everything, did she really need to push her to do even the smallest thing?

—Look, if you don't want to take off those gloves, then I'll do it for you, just as I did with your clothes in the bathroom.

Snowflake's cheeks became red quickly because of the memory of what had happened a few hours ago, so she took off her current gloves very carefully, as if they were going to explode if she did an abrupt movement, and then took the gloves Anna was giving to her, her face relaxing as soon as she felt the soft fabric covering her skin.

—See? It wasn't that difficult. Now, come here, I'm going to brush your hair and… do you want me to comb it in a braid as you had it?

The girl nodded and Anna proceeded to do it. When she finished, she gave her a pair of tennis she had and then she ordered s pizza given that she didn't have time to cook anything. While the pizza arrived, Anna cleaned her room and organized her clothes, Snowflake only seeing her going through all the room picking things here and there and throwing them into the closet or under the bed.

Soon Anna had cleaned it all and the only thing that was still on the floor were the pair of gloves Snowflake was wearing before. She went there and grabbed them, noticing they had water inside and that there was a little puddle where they had been. _Weird_ she thought, but before she could start speculating, the doorbell rang indicating the pizza had arrived. She quickly grabbed her wallet and ran to the door after telling Snowflake to meet her at the table.

They ate then, Snowflake being a little bit less desperate tan during breakfast and trying to eat properly… but the problem was it was _pizza_, and not just any pizza, it had a tomato sauce very well-seasoned and with a nice amount of delicious cheese, and that, together with the fact she hadn't eat a real meat in a while, made her ending practically inhaling the pieces of the delicious food. It made Anna fight to contain her laughter, she couldn't stop a little grin spreading on her face, tough; she was very glad to see the girl almost looking happy for the first time since she had met her.

They finished eating, then Anna washed the dishes and, a few seconds after she had finished, the doorbell rang.


	4. Hans

**Chapter 4.**

Anna headed to the entrance anxiously fixing her clothes. Before opening the door, she realized her hands were sweating.

_Calm down Anna, there's nothing to worry about. They are just making her some tests and giving you a paper to sign it, so that, from now, on you can take the whole responsibility of her well-being… well if they think you're capable of it._

Anna shook her head taking those thoughts out of her head. They were definitely not helping at all. Then she opened the door to see three men standing at the porch. One was an old man wearing a white coat, she supposed he was the doctor. The second was about forty years old, was wearing a dress shirt and dress pants, and had black hair with some white locks. The third…

_Oh my god! He is very handsome… just look at that auburn hair, those bright green eyes and those… are they sideburns? It's a little outdated, but they suit him very nice. He also is very well dressed, those elegant shoes clearly aren't cheap. I wonder if he have a girlfriend… wait, what? Control your fucking hormones, Anna, he is here because of the girl, nothing more, remember?_

Anna cleared her throat realizing she had just been staring at the handsome guy for a little more than what was strictly necessary.

—I assume you were sent here because of the girl I found locked in a secret room here.

—You are Anna Arendelle?—Asked the handsome guy.

—Y-y-yes—Anna stuttered.

_What the hell is going on? I usually never stutter._

—I'm Hans Westergaard. I'm a lawyer from the police department.—Hans took her right hand and placed a kiss on its back. Anna's heart started to race.

—I'm Dr. Jones, it's nice to meet you.

—And I'm Dr. Brown, the psychiatrist.

—Can we come in? We have to make her a little checkup—said the doctor.

—O-of course, please follow me. Snowflake is at the table, we just finished eating.—Anna let them get in, closed the door and started leading them.

—Snowflake?—Hans asked.

—Yeah, I don't know her name, so I just decided to call her like that.

—It's cute.—he smiled with the most charming smile she had ever seen.

Anna blushed furiously and lowered her gaze to the floor. Then they arrived to where Snowflake was. When she saw them, her expression instantly shifted to anxiety, but Anna calmed her down.

—Don't worry, Snowflake. They aren't going to hurt you, they'll just do some tests to make sure you're all right. Just be a good girl, OK?—She nodded and Anna smiled to her.—Now we should probably go to the living room.

Snowflake stood up and approached Anna walking by her side almost too close but still not touching her, as if she were asking for her protection. Anna gave her a reassuring smile and they arrived to the living room. Anna gestured them to sit down, and was about doing the same when the psychiatrist told her:

—I actually need to ask her some questions and evaluate her behavior when you're no around, so can you please go somewhere else?

Anna hesitated for a moment, looking at the pleading eyes Snowflake was giving her, asking her to not leave her with these strangers. She was about saying it wasn't a good idea when Hans said:

—You know, Anna? While they're checking her you could show me this mansion, you know, just to be sure it's a good place for her to live.

Hans gave her another charming smile and gestured gallantly to the door. Anna couldn't even think at that moment, nor could she speak, so she just swallowed trying to hide her blushing and nodded quickly following him out of the room. Her gaze has only focused on his hypnotic eyes, so she couldn't see the betrayed expression painted on Snowflake's face.

* * *

Anna and Hans explored together around the mansion, Anna rambling about everything that came to her mind; the paintings, the carpets, the rooms… the inheritance she received from her uncle. She told him about the money and the expensive house and how now she didn't need to worry about working and could just travel around the world taking amazing pictures (Once Snowflake was OK, of course).

—So, you said you weren't really close to your uncle.—Hans said.

—Uhm… yeah, I didn't see him often.—Anna seemed a little bit uncomfortable about it.

—Why?

—It's complicated… You'll see, my father was the eldest and my grandfather at first was planning to give him all his belongings, but then he realized he wasn't like him.

—How?

—He was very gentle, not wanting to make any harm. He actually studied medicine just to be able to help people, even though my grandfather wanted him to study accountancy or something like that. On the other hand, my uncle always did everything my grandfather wanted without even questioning it. They both had a very disturbed perception of reality, almost wicked. He studied law and his favorite cases were about helping criminals to get out of jail by probing their "supposed" innocence. He actually seemed to enjoy it.

Anna was feeling strange, she didn't even know why she was telling this to Hans, she had only known him a few minutes ago. She supposed it was because whenever she gets nervous, she started talking too much without even thinking, but… why was she even nervous?

—You know? I also studied law—Hans said— but for other reasons. I was born in a high class family so life should've been easy for me, the problem is I have twelve older brothers and none of them like me because we don't share the same mother. However, when my father died, he wanted his fortune to be divided in equal parts for every one of us, but I was just eleven and my oldest brother took advantage from that, taking for his own what was rightfully _mine_.—Hans eyes gleamed with hatred and his face contracted in angry only for one second. Anna didn't even noticed it.—That's why I studied law, to help vulnerable people to get justice. People as that blonde beauty you found.

—That's good—Anna said and couldn't stop thinking on how he opened his heart to her just as easily.—I'm glad you're here, I hope you can help us with this difficult situation, because, you know? I really care for her, I know she's been through a lot and now I can't help but feel like it's my duty to protect her.

—Don't worry, I'll do everything in my hands to help you both.

—Thank you—Anna smiled.

* * *

Anna and Hans returned to the living room. The moment they entered, Anna noticed that Snowflake was hiding behind the couch trembling terrified.

—What did you do to her?!—She shouted to the two men who were trying to get her out of her hideout.

Snowflake saw her, got up and ran to stay behind Anna.

—I just finished with the testing—The psychiatrist said—then Dr. Jones tried to touch her to see if she had any bad injuries, but she freaked out and went to hide there.

—Yeah… well, she doesn't like to be touch.

—That's what I see—Dr. Jones said—but I still have to examine her. Can you help me?

—I'll try.—Anna turned her head towards the scared girl behind her—Hey, Snowflake, be good, OK? The doctor only wants to see how are you, no one is going to hurt you, I'll make sure of that—Anna gave her a smile and Snowflake slowly nodded.

—Please, make her sit on the couch—The doctor said.

Anna did so and sit herself next to her. When Dr. Jones came near, Snowflake started sweating in anxiety, so Anna put a hand over hers to calm her down. The frightened girl instinctively jerked it away, but when she noticed it was Anna she returned it to the couch and let her entwine their fingers.

The doctor first did some basic testing to see if she could normally move her limbs, hear him well and see. Then he indicated her to open her mouth and examined it with a lamp and a tongue depressor. He saw her ears, nostrils and eyes with the help of a little lamp, and checked her breathing and heart with a stethoscope. He also measure the cardiac pulse and pressure with and special device. All of this caused anxiety on Snowflake, making her squeeze Anna's fingers hard, but she didn't complain. Oddly the room temperature got cold again.

The doctor then proceeded to touch her in various parts of her body to see if she had any pain. At this point Anna had to hold her tight with both arms in order to keep her still, and it was probably because the many bruises on her body still hurt. The temperature went even lower and Hans asked about that, Anna told him it was because the air conditioning wasn't working well.

Finally, the doctor finished and Anna released Snowflake. Then they indicated her that they needed to talk without the girl, so Anna told her to wait and escorted them to the library. There they took a sit at one of the tables and Dr. Jones started talking.

—It is our duty to tell you, Ms. Arendelle, the state on which that woman is, even if it must be hard to listen.

—Go ahead.—Anna answered.

—Well, she obviously had been beaten many times, how long I don't know, but I guess at least a few years. She can't move properly her left hand probably because of an unattended fracture, the same can be said of her right foot. Plus she have many bruises and some wounds. Also she haven't eaten properly in a while, she needs to gain some weight.

—What about her mutism? Is it physical?

—I don't think so.—the doctor said—If you want we can make some studies, but it's unlikely.

—I agree with him—the psychiatrist interjected—It seems like a case of selective mutism; she isn't mute, she can speak, she just doesn't want to.—Anna nodded—Also she is obviously scared of people and doesn't want to be touched, it confirms what Dr. Jones already said: she's been abused.

—Anything else?—Anna asked feeling even more sorrow for the poor girl.

—I made some tests to evaluate her skills. She had problems with every section, but language, logic and maths were the worst. It doesn't mean that she is retarded or something, it's a symptom; when someone is mistreated and doesn't have almost any human interaction in a long time, the brain usually lost its ability in these three fields.

—So, what do you think?—Hans finally spoke—should we let Anna take care of her?

—I don't see why not—Dr. Jones answered—she is a little bit injured, but it's nothing that puts her life in danger. Though I'd like to make her an x-ray examination, to make sure there's no internal damage.

—We can arrange a date for that tomorrow—Hans said and then turned to Dr. Brown—what's your opinion?

—She's in a very delicate state and it would be difficult, if not impossible, to make her come back to normal. I suggest to take her to a mental institute, where she'll be watched 24 hours per day by specialists.

Anna was about to protest, but Hans started to speak.

—I know you have a doctorate in psychiatry, but I'm afraid I have to disagree with you. I think the four of us saw clearly how you were incapable of calming her and get her out from behind the couch, but Anna could even convince her on letting Dr. Jones touch her. Snowflake obviously have a special bond with her, perhaps because she was the one who found her, and if you take her away from Anna, she'll only get worse.—Dr. Brown opened his mouth to reply but Hans got up one of his hands to silence him—I really think she should stay here, the house has everything she needs and Anna really care for her. I saw the repot and photos that these cops took in the morning. The girl was in a really bad state, but now, just in a few hours, she made a great progress: she is clean, properly dressed, she's not starving and not _that_ scared from people. I think that, if we give Anna some time, she can make her heal completely, not only physically, but also mentally.

Anna smiled at him. Hans saw it, smiled back and gave her a little wink which made her blush.

—So you're giving her that document?—Dr. Brown asked.

—Yes, I'll do. My decision is final.

With that, Hans got out some paper sheets and give them to Anna. She quickly read them and signed them, then she gave them to Hans. Finally, Anna escorted the three men to the front door and said them goodbye. Dr. Brown and Dr. Jones headed to the car, and Hans was about to do the same when Anna took his hand and whispered:

—Thank you.

—It's always a pleasure to help such a kind and beautiful girl like you.—Anna blushed again—Plus, it was my duty.—Hans then put a card off of one of his pockets and handed it to her—If you need anything, just call me.

—O-OK—Anna answered taking it.

—I'll see you again, Anna.

Hans kissed her on the cheek and quickly went to the car with the other two men, leaving Anna touching the spot where he had kissed her with a silly gin on her face.

* * *

**Sooooooo yes, Hans is going to be in the story. What do you think? He has good or bad intentions? **

**Note: Sorry, I know this chapter was a little boring, but it was necessary :P**

**The next chapter we'll see a little bit of Elsa's past, so stay tuned ;) and remember to review, fav and follow :)**


	5. Air conditioning

**Chapter 5.**

Snowflake's POV.

_Conceal, don't feel. Conceal, don't feel._

_I don't hear him yelling at me. I can't hear his voice saying that I'm a monster. I can't hear it when he says that I deserve to die, that I should be thankful to him because he let me live. I can't hear it when he yells at me saying that he did it because he pitied me, not because he loved me. I don't need to hear it; I know he didn't love me, no one could ever love me. I'm a monster._

_I don't feel the hot tears escaping from my eyes and hitting the floor. I'm a monster, and monsters don't cry._

_I can't see the frost quickly covering the dark room. I can't feel the raising cold filling the room. I can't feel anything. I'm a monster._

_I can't feel the fear taking the control over my body as I look into his eyes, those eyes full of rage, contempt and hatred. I know that look, I know what it means, I know what he's going to do. He does it almost every night, but sometimes it's worse than others. It doesn't matter, I deserve it. I'm a monster._

_I don't feel it when he hits me hard on my face with such a strength I'm thrown to the floor. I don't feel the ice cutting the soft skin of mi cheek. I don't see the blood covering the white coldness I've created, painting it with red. Monsters don't bleed._

_I don't hear the sound of the chain he picks from the corner. I don't feel the first hit. Or the second. Or the third… I don't feel my back screaming in pain, I don't feel my ribs being punished again, and again, and again. I don't feel when one of them breaks. I don't feel the pain getting worse with every hit, till it's almost impossible to endure. I don't feel the pain that the screaming is causing to my throat._

_I don't feel._

_I don't feel._

_I don't feel._

_I don't feel. I don't feel. I don't feel. _

_Idon'tfeelIdon'tfeelIdon'tfeelIdon'tfeelIdon'tfeelIdon'tfeel._

_Conceal, don't feel. Conceal, don't feel. Conceal, don't feel. Conceal, don't feel._

_If I feel I'm gonna hurt him, and I don't wanna do that. Not because I care. I really don't. I hate him, but I promised her I would be a good girl. I don't want to see her cry. I don't want to see those eyes looking at me with disappointment again. I don't want to break her trust. I don't want to hurt her like that again. _

_But the pain is too much. I know I won't be able to hold it back anymore. This should be easy. I'm a monster and monsters don't feel, but then, why am I screaming in agony? Why is the cold getting worse with every hit?_

_I start to panic. The storm is being released. I couldn't keep it in, even though I tried._

_He notice it and finally stops the punishment. Even if he doesn't admit it, I know he's afraid of me._

_When he finally leaves I allow me to feel again. I start to cry and the sobs make me shake hardly. The movement only makes the pain increase. Now I can't breathe. I wish not to be able to feel right now… I wish I really was a monster._

* * *

Anna woke up in the middle of the night hearing loud and heartbreaking screams coming from the room next to hers.

When Hans and the others left, she had returned to the living room and told her the good news. Then she had rambled about anything that came to her mind during at least one hour, but snowflake listened attentively at every word as if everything Anna had to say was the most important thing in the world.

Then they both had watched a movie at the giant TV. Well, actually Anna fell asleep after a while and Snowflake lost interest at it around the half, so she just kept fixing her braid again and again until the movie ended and Anna woke up.

Once Anna was awake, she had showed her the ground floor of the house to make sure she wasn't going to get lost at night when she went to the bathroom or something and had chosen a bedroom net to hers for her to sleep, this way Anna would be near if Snowflake needed something… just like now.

Anna quickly ran to Snowflake's room and knocked. The screams continued. Anna knocked again, this time harder, but nothing changed.

—Snowflake, wake up!—She yelled so she could hear her—Wake up! It's just a dream!

She didn't wake up, and Anna just kept listening. The sounds Snowflake was making were so full of pain and sorrow that Anna's eyes started to become wet with tears se fought to contain, but it was hard because, thanks to the screams, she could tell that the things Snowflake was dreaming about were surely very, _very_ bad. She continued knocking and telling her to wake up and open the door, but she remained lost in her unpleasant dream. Then the cries turned into heartbreaking sobs, the kind of sobs that make you feel devastated yourself.

Anna had had enough. She couldn't let her stuck in that horrible nightmare, so she tried to open the door, but it was locked from the inside.

_S-she knows how to lock doors? Well, Anna, of course she does, she is not a little girl. She probably didn't want to be disturbed during her sleep._

Anna kneeled down and watched under the door to see if the key was near or something, but oddly, she couldn't see anything inside the room. It wasn't because it were dark (The room had a very big window and the moon was shining outside), but because there was something white and translucent covering the little space between the door and the floor, it almost seemed like… ice? In the middle of summer? Inside a house? It was impossible, but when Anna slid her finger on the groove trying to touch the strange material, she clearly felt the chill emanating from it.

_It can't be ice… can it? Does this house have some kind of curse consisting in ice and cold temperatures on the middle of summer? Maybe I'm still dreaming?_

Suddenly a louder and longer cry got her back to reality and to the reason she really was there. Anna got up and started throwing herself towards the door in a last, desperate attempt of waking her up.

—Snowflake, please, wake up! Open the door, please!

When the sobs didn't ease, Anna understood she wasn't going to wake her easily, but she decided that she just couldn't go back to bed and sleep, not with all that noise. Anna then went to her room, grabbed some blankets, sat outside the door and wait until Snowflake woke up to try to give her all the comfort she could.

* * *

Anna felt a sensation of falling, as if the door supporting her back had suddenly disappeared. Then she felt pain at the back or her head.

—OUUUCH!—She screamed as she grabbed her nape trying to suffocate the pain.

Then she opened her eyes and saw two beautiful blue orbs staring at her with concern. Anna suddenly remembered who was the owner of that pair of gorgeous eyes and quickly tried to stand up, but she was still disoriented and a little sleepy, so she got dizzy and stumbled falling on the corridor just outside Snowflake's room.

The door shut quickly and Snowflake ran to Anna's side kneeling next to her, trying to see if she was OK. Anna sense her presence and looked at her, then, still fighting the pain and slumber that were on her head, she said with a sleepy voice:

—Hello, Snowflake, how are you today?

Obviously Snowflake didn't said a thing, which actually disappointed Anna. She had heard the girl scream very loudly the night before, so now she was sure she wasn't mute, she just didn't want do speak… wait…the screams! Anna looked at Snowflake worryingly and saw huge and black bags under her eyes, which were red as if she had been crying the entire night. Her expression was sad and pained as if she had been through a lot just a few hours ago.

—How… how are you feeling? I heard you screaming at night and I came to check, but I couldn't wake you up. Are you all right?

Snowflake's face showed guilt, but then she gave her a little nod to answer the question and stood up, gesturing Anna to do the same. Anna did so and then looked questioningly at her. She pointed to the right (the direction where the bathroom was) and Anna suddenly knew what she needed.

—Oh… you need to go to the bathroom? Here, follow me.

Anna led her there and then told her to meet her in the dining room when she were done. Then she went to her room, grabbed some clothes and put them on, brushed her messy hair and ran to the kitchen where she quickly prepared breakfast (scrambled eggs with sausages and some coffee) and waited till Snowflake arrived, dressed just like the day before and with her hair braided in a single french braid, as usual.

Snowflake sat down on the chair in front of Anna, where she had placed her food and looked at the fork with worried eyes. Anna then noticed that it was the first time she was going to use it (The night before they had just ear some pancakes Anna had bought), and could tell that the girl was scared of not using it the proper way.

—Don't worry, Snowflake—Anna gave her a reassuring smile—it's not really that hard to use it, look—Anna grabbed hers, used it to take a forkful of eggs and put them into her mouth—See? It's easy.

Snowflake tried to do the same, but she couldn't hold the fork correctly, so Anna took her gloved hand (And she felt proud when the girl actually didn't flinch as always) and showed her the right position. After that, it was so much easy for her to eat, and soon she was doing it just as any normal person.

Snowflake then saw the cup of dark liquid standing in front of her, and was going to take a sip when Anna said:

—Wait, it's actually better if you first add some sugar and cream to it, that way it won't be so bitter.

Snowflake did so copying the way Anna was doing it: First she added three spoonfuls of sugar, then a little bit of cream and finally she shacked the dinking with she spoon with such a strength some drops came out flying from the cup. Anna just couldn't help staring at her as she was doing these simple actions. She was so concentrated, as if she were doing the most important thing in the world; her eyebrows were frowned and the tip of her tongue was showing a bit at the corner of her mouth. She was just _so damn cut_e_! _

_It really must be illegal for a gorgeous girl to be this cute. I swear if I had met her in some other circumstances I would be over her right now filling her with loving words and kisses, but life have to be this cruel to me; I can't do it even if I want it with all my hearth._

Anna was so concentrated gawking at her that she didn't even noticed when Snowflake took a sip of the hot, _very_ hot coffee. Anna's eyes widened when she finally registered what had already happened, but the girl didn't seemed to react at the temperature of the water, so Anna took a sip at her cup too. Her tongue felt like burning and even tears appeared at her eyes. How could Snowflake bear such a high temperature on a drinking? Anna placed a hand on her cup while the girl was eating the eggs and instantly felt that it wasn't hot anymore, actually it was cold for something meant to be a hot beverage.

_What's happening here?_

* * *

After they ended breakfast, Anna washed the dishes and then they both washed their teeth (Anna had managed to teach her how to do it the day before after a little toothpaste accident). After that, Anna decided to show her the first floor of the house, which Snowflake hadn't seen yet because there were just two rooms, one bathroom and a large library.

Anna led her trough the corridor directly to the library. She wanted to know if the girl actually knew how to read. However, when they were about a half of their way, they passed beside a white door with blue and purple snowflakes painted on it. Anna didn't even look at it, she knew what was behind it, but Snowflake suddenly stopped. Anna didn't noticed it and continued walking till she arrived to the library.

—…You'll see, Snow, there are so many books, one would need an entire life to read them and…Snowflake?—When Anna was opening the door, she suddenly noticed the girl's absence.

Anna returned where they had been just seconds ago trying to see where she was, and she noticed the now opened door. Anna entered the room. As she remembered, this particular habitation didn't have anything on it and the walls were bare; the paper that was once covering them had been torn apart and only some small pieces laid here and there on the white marble floor. Snowflake was with the back at her holding one of this pieces and staring at it.

—Snowflake, what is it? Why did you got into this place? There's nothing here.

Anna approached to her and saw the pattern painted on the paper. It was blue with violet figures which were similar to snowflakes, or maybe they were flowers? Anna wasn't sure, but it was a very complicated figure for a wall paper. Anna was about to tell her that they should go to somewhere more interesting when she suddenly heard a sob and saw her shoulders shaking, then hurriedly went by her side and saw tears coming down her eyes.

—S-snowflake, what's wrong? Have you been here before?—Anna asked, though she didn't really expected an answer. Then she tentatively put a hand on her shoulder wanting to comfort her, but she backed away and braced herself crying harder. Anna really hated seeing her cry, but hated even more not to be able to do anything to ease her pain.

Anna started shivering and realized that the temperature had dropped suddenly… again. Seriously what was happening there? Well, that was the last of her concerns now.

—Snowflake? Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?—The girl just ignored her, as usual—Please, just let me hold you, let me wipe your tears. I-I don't like to see you suffering… Ask me anything and I'll do it if it helps you.

Snowflake saw her with sorrowful and red eyes, then she looked at the door and then back at her. Unfortunately, Anna knew what it meant.

—Y-you want me to leave?

Snowflake nodded and continued crying. Anna couldn't help but feel hurt; she had been doing her best to help her, and the girl still didn't want here there. Of course she didn't want to obey, but the Snowflake seemed to need some space alone in that room where apparently she had been previously. Maybe it was her room before she were locked in that secret passage? But if that were true, that meant she had lived there. It meant this mansion was her _home_ before being her _prison_. Anna didn't know why but the thought was even more disturbing than the idea of the girl being a prisoner since the beginning.

Anna didn't know what was going on inside Snowflake's brain, but she decided to leave as she had been asked, not before telling her to stay inside that room or around that zone while she was gone and telling her that she'd be back latter.

* * *

Anna was frustrated. There wasn't any other way to describe it. She hated not being able to help Snowflake, yes, but it wasn't the only thing bothering her. The previous day when the doctor had examined the girl, Anna had been able to touch her and calm her, and that morning she had even touched her hand and she hadn't reacted in a bad way. For a moment she had thought there had been a recovery. But no, she had made a fool of herself. She had let her hopes up.

_You must be patient, Anna. Snowflake has gone through a lot, she is not going to suddenly start acting as a normal person. It's only been one day, give the girl some time._

Anna sighed. Patience had never been one of her strengths.

She decided to occupy herself in something to stop thinking about the tragic gorgeous beauty upstairs, so she called for someone to fix the air conditioning. She was really tired of those sudden changes in temperature.

The repairman arrived about half an hour later. She greeted him at the door, let him into the house and led him to where the air conditioning system was while she explained him the problem. The man put out a screwdriver and dismantled the device to check it, while Anna was standing there waiting for the verdict.

—You said that you'd had trouble with this because it chills the house too fast and without reason?

—Yes, that's exactly what happens. Do you think you'll be able to fix it?

—Actually I think you're imagining those sudden drops of temperature. This old thing clearly hadn't worked in at least a decade. It couldn't descend the temperature a single grade even if it actually were connected to the contact, which it isn't.

A sudden chill descended through Anna's spine, but this time it wasn't for cold. She hadn't imagined it, it had been real, but she had to admit that the air conditioning wasn't connected to any electricity source, so it couldn't have been working, plus it really looked so old. It was obvious it hadn't functioned in a while.

_Could this mansion really be haunted? Or is there a more rational explanation?_

—Really, girl? You think your house is haunted?—Anna blushed. She hadn't intend to say that out loud.—Don't worry, there's actually an explanation. You live near the North Mountain, which is covered by ice and snow all year; those drops of temperature must have been provoked by cold air descending from the pick.

Anna let out a sigh of relieve. That was it! No haunted mansion!

She thanked the man and said goodbye to him after giving him a generous tip. She was so grateful to him for easing the worries that had surged inside her when he told her about the air conditioning not working, but now she knew the truth of what was happening, there was nothing to be afraid of.

* * *

After that, Anna decided to head up the stairs to check on Snowflake.

When she entered the room where she was when she left her, no one was in there. Anna started to worry, but then she remembered that she had told the girl to stay in that _zone_, not exactly in that _room_, so she headed to the room next to it but it was empty as well. The only possibility now was the library.

Anna opened the big wooden doors and got in. There were two wooden tables with four comfortable chairs each one and two red couches at the entrance. Behind them there were six large bookcases containing an interminable amount of books ordained by topic and alphabetic order. Sitting in one of the couches and reading a book was the blond and beautiful woman Anna had been searching. She approached to her and sat at her left side.

—Soooooo, you know how to read—Anna said with a smirk. It wasn't a question.

Snowflake lifted her eyes to meet hers apparently startled because of her presence and closeness. Anna could see that her eyes were still red, she clearly had been crying for quite some time, but decided not to say nothing about it.

—What are you reading?—She asked.

Snowflake closed the book and showed her the title: "The beauty and the beast". It was a book for children and it contained more illustrations than words. Anna was surprised by seeing a woman about her age reading something like that, it made her wonder again how many years had she been locked?

—Was that your book?—She asked. Snowflake nodded. Good, it was an opportunity to learn about her past—Do you have any other books?—She nodded again—could you show me?

Snowflake stood up and lead her trough an aisle between two bookcases till they got to the end of it. There she pointed to a section where there were many infantile books and some juvenile novels (like Harry Potter) as well as poem books for children. Anna took one of the last ones and opened it. Even if it was for children and had very illustrative images she could barely comprehend the meaning of the text; the language was way too complicated (plus she had never been good at metaphors). She decided to better close it and put it again in its place.

—Which was your favorite?—Snowflake pointed to the Harry Potter books (there were only the first two)—So, why didn't you read it instead of "The beauty and the beast"?

Snowflake looked down to the little book in her hands clearly ashamed of something. At first Anna didn't get it, but then she understood. The psychiatrist had tell her that language was affected when there was a lack of human contact, besides, the girl surely hadn't been able to read anything for a while. Harry Potter was a very complicated text for her to read now, even if one day she had been capable of understand the poem books, that's why the girl had opted for an easy-reading infantile book. Anna decided that she could do something for her.

—Do you want me to read Harry Potter to you?

Snowflake nodded and smiled. It was the first sincere smile Anna had seen in her face since she had met her. Her eyes shined with joy. It was the most amazing thing Anna had ever witness. She decided she'd do anything to see her doing it more often.


	6. Her name

**Chapter 6.**

Anna opened the door to meet Kristoff and Sven. As they promised, they had returned to ask Snowflake some questions about her past to see if they can figure out who was the responsible of keeping her locked.

It was midday and Snowflake had been out of her prison a total of two days and four hours. She was in the library, where she spent most of her time since Anna had read Harry Potter to her the day before; she was trying to learn how to read by herself.

—How has she been?—Kristoff asked.

—She is better, I think—Anna answered—Even if she have had nightmares both nights. At least now she has a way to distract herself. She is reading all her books.

—_Her_ books?—Sven asked.

—Yeah…, I think this was her home before she got imprisoned.

The cops asked her to tell them everything she had found out about the girl, and she did before leading them to the library. When the entered they found Snowflake lying on one couch with an infantile book on her hand and a dictionary resting on her belly. She turned her head to see them and her face showed fear for a moment at the sight of the cops.

—It's OK, Snowflake—Anna said to calm her—They are Kristoff and Sven, remember? They won't hurt you.

—How are you… uh… Snowflake?—Kristoff said glancing ant Anna questionably.

—I still don't know what's her name.

—And you called her Snowflake?—The incredulous tone with which Kristoff said that made Anna blush in embarrassment.—You could have picked a better nickname like… I don't know… Carrot. Yes. Carrots are good.

Anna and Sven erupted into laughter mostly because the thoughtfully and serious expression in Kristoff face told them he wasn't joking. After several minutes they were able to calm down and Anna wiped the tears that had escaped from her eyes because of the laughter.

—Please excuse my mate—Sven said—He is not the smartest guy.

With that Anna laughed again.

—If you two have stopped making fun out of me, I think we have work to do.—Kristoff said in a grumpy tone.

—Don't be mad Kristoff—Anna said giving him a friendly punch at his arm—We are just teasing. Come on, I'll help you find more about Snowflake.

—Fine—Kristoff said rolling his eyes and smiling—actually I thought about it while you two were busy laughing at me and I figured out a way to get some information from her.

—Really?—Anna asked exited.

—She can read, right?—Anna nodded—Well, maybe she can write too.

Anna almost face palmed herself for her stupidity. How hadn't she thought about that before?

* * *

They went to sit at one of the tables with Snowflake, who still appeared a little anxious but not scared. Anna went to find some paper and a pencil, she gave them to Snowflake and sat in front of her. Then she looked at Kristoff and he nodded, so she asked the girl:

—So… Snowflake. Do you know how to write?

Snowflake stared at the pencil for a moment and then took it with her right hand moving it between her fingers trying to find the correct position to hold it. When she seemed satisfied she approach the graphite tip to the white paper sheet and wrote a single word at it:

_Yes._

The writing was ugly, clearly because the girl hadn't written anything in a while, but the letters were recognizable.

Anna almost jumped from happiness when she saw that single word. Kristoff and Sven sighed in relieve; with a way to communicate better with the girl, this should be easier.

—What's your name?—Kristoff asked—Can you write it?

Snowflake shook her head not looking at him. The blond man then turned to Anna and gave her a pleading look. Anna understood what he wanted.

—Snowflake please, write your name. I'd really like to know it.—Anna begged.

Snowflake shook her head again and wrote in the paper:

_Monsters do not have a name._

—You. Are. Not. A. Monster!—Anna almost shouted remarking the words. The girl flinched and dropped the pencil at the table. Then she looked away with sad eyes. Anna tried to calm herself down in order to convince her to write her name.—Look, I know that whoever did this to you, also convince you that you're a monster, but believe me: you are not.

Snowflake looked at her and nodded sadly, but Anna knew she still didn't believe her. Then Sven decided to intervene.

—Anna is right: You are not a monster, but we won't pressure you to write your name if you don't want to. However, we need to know who locked you. Can you write their names?

_I do not know._ She wrote.

—Well, then can you give us a description?—Kristoff said—Or make an sketch of their faces?—Snowflake shook her head.—Then at least let us know something about your past. Anything!—he said a little bit exasperated.

She started drawing something. They waited patiently for her to finish it and see what it was. First she draw a man in suit with a mustache. Anna recognized him as her uncle. He was in the same position as he appeared at the portrait which hided the secret passage. When she started drawing her aunt next to him, she didn't have any doubt: the girl was drawing the painting.

Anna sighed frustrated, thinking Snowflake didn't want them to know anything about her and instead of answer their questions she had decided to draw the picture to gain some time and avoid the interrogatory. However, her frustrated mode quickly changed to one of curiosity when she saw her drawing a third little person at the right bottom of the sketch. Finally Snowflake finished and handled her the sheet. There, at the space which corresponded to the burned corner of the painting, was a little girl wearing a dress and shoes, smiling at her father. Anna's eyes widened.

—Y-y-y… —Anna couldn't find her voice for a moment—Y-you draw my cousin, Elsa.

—Your uncle had a daughter?—Kristoff asked looking at the sketch.

—Yes, but she died when she was five, probably not too long after the portrait was painted.

—How many years ago was that?

—19.

Kristoff looked at the sketch and then at Snowflake, who seemed a little surprised about the number Anna had said.

—How old are you?—He asked the girl.

She wrote at the paper:

_Not sure. More than 21. _

Kristoff seemed to think about it as if he had some idea in his mind. He started sweating, probably the idea wasn't a pleasurable one. Then he got up holding the sketch.

—Anna, Sven, come with me. I want to see something.

The two stood up a little bit confused and followed him outside the library after Anna told Snowflake to stay there. Once they were at the corridor, Kristoff spoke clearly nervous.

—Anna, I want you to show me the portrait at your uncle's studio.

—What are you thinking, buddy?—Sven asked.

—Just do it Anna, I have a theory and I want to see if I'm right.

—S-sure—Anna answered as intrigued as Sven—Follow me.

They descended the stairs and arrived to her uncle's studio, they opened the door and got in. Everything was as two days before; Anna hadn't returned since that night. Kristoff quickly placed himself in front of the painting and examined the burned area carefully. After a few moments his expression turned into an horrified one and he started mumbling continuously: "It can't be".

—What is it dude?—Sven asked with a concerned tone—What did you found?

Kristoff didn't say anything, instead he pointed to something in the painting and then showed him the sketch Snowflake had made. Sven's face turned white. Anna was being patiently watching, letting them do their job, but now she was anxious, wanting to know what had they had discovered, since it didn't seem to be a good thing.

—What is it guys? Is something wrong?

—It is—Kristoff said—mostly because your uncle and aunt are the main suspects.

Anna felt a little pain at the back of her mind from hearing her own thoughts said out loud by the cop who was responsible for Snowflake's case. However, she forgot about it when he made a movement with his hand indicating her to get close. When she was in front of the picture he pointed to some point just above the burned area while he started speaking.

—Look. It seems like hair. _Platinum blonde_ hair.

Anna's heart started racing with angst but oddly she became paler and started sweating with cold, while her mind was trying to process what Kristoff was suggesting. Then he showed her the sketch at the same point where the barely recognizable strand of hair was at the painting. It was the top of the girl's hair.

—I think we now know what's her name—Kristoff said, but his voice lacked joy, actually it was pained.

Anna felt a chill descending through all her body and two hot tears rolling from her eyes. She knew the name even before he said it.

—Elsa Arendelle.

* * *

**Snowflake is Elsa! O.O**

**Well, I'm sure you all knew it since the second chapter jeje **

**Sorry, I know it was short, but I have had too much homework and it's all I could write… besides, I wanted to leave you with that cliffhanger XD**

**PD. If you want to see Elsa's sketch, it's here: art/Elsa-s-sketch-An-unexpected-inheritance-476095655**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and follow :) **


	7. Everybody needs a warm hug

**Chapter 7.**

—Anna, please sit down—Kristoff said seeing now the girl was crying. Anna just kept staring at the painting with her hands pressed to the wall for support, so Kristoff took her by her shoulders and gently led her to the chair at her uncle's desk.—I know It's too much to process, so stay here and try to calm down while Sven and I go down there to see if we find something else.

Anna nodded and continued sobbing. Kristoff glanced a concerned look towards Sven but they decided it was best to let the redhead digest the news, so the cops descended trough the secret stairs leaving her alone.

Anna couldn't believe what she had saw.

_It's a mistake, it has to be a mistake_—She repeated in her head—_Why would they do that to their own daughter? _

_Well, maybe they didn't do it… _

_Come on Anna, are you stupid? They were the only ones living in this mansion since their daughter's "death", who else could've do it?_

_But why? She was just a girl, what could she have ever done for them to treat her that way? I don't understand… I've only know her for two days and I already love her, so why her own parents were incapable of appreciate the wonderful person she is?_

_Your own father used to say your uncle was cruel, he said he was a bad man, so why are you surprised?_

_I know, but still there has to be a reason, other way they could have just killed her or lock her the day she was born. Why would they wait till she was older?_

_Don't try to understand the mind of a criminal._

* * *

Minutes passed and Anna continued immersed in her thoughts crying because of the atrocity that had been committed in the house of the only family she had ever had besides her parents. Then she started to calm down a little and saw a yellow folder at the desk that said with big black letters: "Contacts". Anna felt curiosity about this because her fatter had said her uncle didn't have any friends so he usually never talked to people. She decided to open the folder telling herself that it would probably help to know the true about Sn… Elsa's story.

The folder had papers containing information about various people, most of them coworkers or clients, but there were a few that caught Anna's attention. First a man named Kai and a woman named Gerda who worked with her relatives as butler and housemaid respectively till 1995, the year Elsa had "died". Then there was this old little man known as The Duke of Weselton who was the owner of a secret company named "Zero monsters", it didn't say what they had to do with a strange man like him, but they had first contacted him at 1995, so it sounded suspicious, mostly for the monsters' thing. There were some others who seemed like they could be related to Elsa's imprisonment because of the dates, but probably were just her uncle's clients.

Anna had just finished looking through the documents when Kristoff and Sven emerged from the secret passage grabbing plastic transparent bags with some things inside them. She was going to ask what they had found when Kristoff said angrily:

—Why didn't you come down or just answer? We kept shouting for several minutes.

—Really?—Anna asked surprised—I didn't hear anything.

—Are you sure?—Asked Sven. Anna nodded.—Then there's a possibility that the walls are soundproof.

—That would make sense—Kristoff said—it'd explain why no one found about Elsa before.

—Indeed.

_These aren't good news. If they soundproofed the walls, it means they actually planned the whole thing._

—So… what did you find down there guys?—Anna asked to distract herself of the not pleasant thoughts that came to her mind.

—Nothing—Kristoff said immediately putting the bags behind him. Anna cocked up one brow.—I really don't think you want to see it.

—I do—She said now very curious. What was he hiding from her?

—She does have the right to see it—Sven said.

—Please?—Anna put her pleading eyes.

—Fine—Kristoff sighed and showed her the bags. There was a thin stick covered with blood, a chain and a belt.

—A-are th-they…?—Anna stuttered.

—Yes, the ones who held her captive probably used these instruments to harm her.

—Oh my god!—Anna breathed putting one hand over her mouth. It wasn't as if she didn't know about it before, but seeing the instruments was way a lot worse. Then she noticed one thing about the objects—Why are they wet?—She then saw the damp bottom part of the cops' pants—Why are you wet?

—The ice was melted—Sven answered—That's why we were able to find these things. They were probably covered by snow the last time.

—I see… wait, why did the ice melted?

—I think the real question here is how did that ice formed in the first place?—Kristoff said.

—I just supposed the room had a very advanced freezing mechanism, as if it were some kind of giant freezer.

—We thought that too—Sven said—But there wasn't anything like that. It's just a regular room.

—OK… that's very strange actually.

—I'm sure we'll figure it out eventually—Kristoff intervened—but now we have to go. It's getting late and we have a lot to report.

—Oh, right. Do you want to say goodbye to Snowflake before you go?

—Stop calling her like that. Her name is Elsa. And no, tell her that we're sorry, but we really don't have time to say goodbye.

—OK, I'll led you to the door then.

Anna walked them to the entrance, where Kristoff gave her his phone number, and told her to call him in case she found something important, before the two cops left. Anna sighed while she saw the patrol go away to the city knowing that she now should have to talk to Elsa and that it wouldn't be easy.

* * *

Anna started walking towards the library assuming Elsa would still be there, but when she was passing the living room, the telephone rang. She quickly ran to answer it wondering who could be calling to her uncle's house.

—Hello?—She said.

—Hi—Sounded a masculine and perfect voice at the telephone.

—Hans?—She asked happily—How did you get this number?

—It was at the telephone directory.

—Oh… right, I should've guess it.—Anna face palmed herself feeling like the most stupid person.

—I know I said I would call yesterday to talk about the X-ray thing, but the hospital has been a little crowded lately and I know Snowflake don't like people.

—Yes, it would be a lot better if she is the only patient that day.

—That's what I thought, so I talked with Dr. Jones and we arranged a date at Saturday morning. There won't be any more patients.

—That's great, thank you very much Hans. I think is very sweet of you to think about what's best for her.

—It's a pleasure.—There was a pause in which Anna enjoyed the echoes of his voice inside her head—Oh, I almost forgot, Dr. Jones asked me to tell you to bring her without having breakfast. The date would be at 7AM, so I don't think it's a problem.

—Of course, I can do that, but why?

—He want to do some blood tests as well.

—OK, that sounds good. I think it would be good for her… the analysis, I mean, because this way we could see if she is in good health and stuff…, but the needles… I shiver just at the thought of them, I bet she hates them. I used to run away when I was a kid and my mother took me to the doctor for some shots or vaccines and I…—Suddenly Anna was aware that she'd been rambling again.—Sorry, I do word-vomiting very often, mostly when I'm nervous.

—Don't worry, I think it's cute.—Anna blushed at that.

—Well, then I'll see you soon?—It was meant to be a farewell, but it came out as a hopeful question.

—Of course, I'll call you and maybe we could go out and talk about things… related to Snowflake's case, of course.

—Y-y-yeah, it's a date then. Bye.

—Good bye Anna.

Anna hanged the phone and put a hand on her chest trying to calm down her racing heart.

_Wow, I have a date with the most handsome man I've ever seen, it must be my lucky day._

Then Anna though about all that had happened early that day and what she'd have to talk with Elsa just a few moments from now.

_Well, maybe not _that_ lucky._

* * *

Anna arrived to the library and, as she had expected, found Elsa in there, but not reading as she usually did, she was drawing and had lots of crumpled paper sheets surrounding her. Anna approached to her and saw the drawing from above her shoulder. It was a snowflake, it wasn't complete yet, but it still was very beautiful and realistic and had a very intricate pattern, actually Anna hadn't ever seen a snowflake like that in real like.

—It's very nice—Anna said. Elsa jumped, surprised by her presence. Then she just shook her head, crumpled the paper and threw it away—Why did you do that? It was perfect!

_Not really._ Elsa wrote in a new sheet.

—I've never seen a snowflake more beautiful than the one you were drawing… well, except maybe you.

Anna laughed at her silly joke-compliment, and Elsa blushed. It was the first time Anna had seen a little bit of color in her pale cheeks, and it just suited her very well. She thought she really should complement the blonde more often. Then Anna grabbed one of the crumpled sheets and flattened it, seeing it was another snowflake drawing. Then she saw another, and another, and another… all of them were different types of snowflakes with shapes Anna hadn't ever seen or even imagined.

—Wow, you are a very good drawer, it must be in your blood or something. My best friend, Rapunzel, would be jealous of this. She is a painter, but I bet not even she would be able to compete with these.—Anna paused unsure of what to say next—You… uhm… Why snowflakes?

_You called me Snowflake._

—Oh…—Anna was taken aback by her answer. Did she really mean that much for Elsa? so much that she had even relinquished her real name in order to take the random nickname she had given to her and now she was drawing snowflakes because of it.—… Actually about that… I-I know your real name now. Kristoff figured it out thanks to the sketch you made.

Elsa's posture became rigid all of a sudden and the temperature dropped.

—You're Elsa, right? You are my supposed-to-be-death cousin.

_I don't know what you're talking about_

—Don't lie to me, Elsa!—She screamed making her flinch. She was upset because early that day the girl had revealed a part of herself and now she was denying it.—Just, tell me the truth. I already know it, but I want to see you admitting it. So, are you Elsa?

_Yes._

Anna sighed on relieve seeing that single word. Now she was going somewhere with this girl.

—Good. Now I have some questions I want to ask you. You don't have to answer them now, but I want you to think about them and tell the truth to me when you're ready. OK?

Elsa nodded.

—I'll start with the easiest one. How old where you when they locked you?

_8_

Anna was glad she had answer that question immediately, but the answer made her have more questions.

—Then why did your parents said you had died when you were five?—This time Elsa didn't answered. Her face remaining expressionless—Fine, uh, why did they locked you in the first place?

Elsa's face changed quickly. There was sadness in her eyes, guilt and fear. Tears stated running down her cheeks.

—Oh my god, Elsa I'm so sorry—Anna wanted to comfort her, but she knew she didn't like to be touched, so her hands just remained suspended in the air, a few centimeters away of her shoulders.—I didn't want to make you cry. Please forgive me.

Anna searched in her pockets and found a tissue, which she offered to the girl. Elsa took it and wiped her own tears. She then tried to calm herself enough to be able to write.

_Don't worry, It wasn't your fault._

—Then whose fault is it? Who locked you?

Elsa didn't answered, she just sobbed harder and soon her whole body was shaking because of the whimpers. She put her arms on the table and then her head over them and continued crying lauder, but the sound was muffled because of this new position.

Anna just watched her, feeling totally powerless. She wanted to do something, but she was afraid of scaring her if she touched her. After a few moments of reflection and a few heartbreaking whines, she decided to do what her heart told her was the right thing: hold her. Anna didn't even noticed (or cared) the cold temperature of her body.

Elsa was startled at the touch and immediately tried to get away, but Anna only grabbed her waist harder from her back and whispered on her ear:

—Shhhh, It's OK, Snowflake. Everybody needs a warm hug now and then, mostly when they're sad.

Elsa remained stiff, but at least she stopped fighting against Anna's hold. Then, slowly, she started to relax a little. Finally, she continued crying. This time, however, even if it was still loud and sad, the way she was doing it was somehow different. It was less desperate, less hopeless, less broken.

Anna didn't know it but this was the first time in a long while in which Elsa wasn't feeling so alone.

* * *

**Note: Sorry, but from now on the updates won't be so frequent. I'll do my best, though, to try to update once a week. **

**Thank you for all our reviews, favorites and follows, they make me really happy :)**

**Also, if you have some ideas or suggestions for this story, you can tell them to me in a review, and if they fit the story I'll try to put them in future chapters.**

**Thanks for reading. See you soon.**


	8. Conceal, don't feel

WARNING: This chapter contains physical and verbal abuse. You've been warned.

* * *

**Chapter 8.**

Elsa's POV

_I'm__ bored__ in the cold and dark room. It has been almost one year and a half since I was brought here. I miss my toys, my books, my movies, the TV cartoons… but most of all I miss my mom. Down here I don't have almost anything to do, just sit on the stone ground trying to control my powers and wondering when papa will come with the food… and hoping he doesn't get angry. _

_It had been at__ least__ 26 hours and 14 minutes since I last ate something. I know, I've counted every second. My stomach starts growling._

_I hear footsteps, the door suddenly opens and papa gets in holding a plate in one hand and a lantern at the other. I say hello and smile, he smiles back and a little hope starts rising in my chest. Maybe he will feed me and then tell me some story just as he did when I was younger? Or maybe I can ask him to play with me?_

_He closes the door, __comes__ near to me and __handles__ me the plate. I took it and I can't help feeling disappointed. It's just a little piece of meat with some __boiled__ vegetables. I don't like it at all and I know it isn't going to calm my hunger. However, I don't complain and I'm about to eat it when I see my gloved hands._

—_Papa—I say—C-can I…?—I don't know how to say this—c-can I take off my gloves?_

_He looks at me with such a glare that I flinch and I try to explain myself not looking at his eyes._

—_I-I know it's dangerous… It's just that… they're dirty, I've been wearing them for so long… I-I… _

_I really don't know what to say, I'm sure I've made him angry. Suddenly I feel his hand on my shoulder and I almost jump, but seeing he's not hurting me, I am able to relax._

—_Maybe it could be a good opportunity to see if you're becoming better at concealing your powers—papa says with a soft voice. _

_I know he's agreeing with what I asked, but there's something on the way he said it that makes me feel nervous, almost scared. However, I take off my gloves carefully, place them beside me and take a fork to start eating. I feel utterly relieved when no ice appears in it._

_I start eating, trying to do it properly just to impress my dad, even though I'm so hungry that all I want is to devour the entire meat in one single bite. The food is very cold, but I don't care, I'm just glad I've finally got __to eat something__._

—_Aren't you nervous, Elsa?—he asks._

_I look at him, confused. What does he mean?_

—_About what, papa?_

_He starts pacing around the room, lantern in hand, seemingly admiring the walls, even though they're bare._

—_I don't know—he says with a nonchalant voice—you've been wearing those gloves since the accident. You've said so many times__that__ they make you feel better__, __that __they help you conceal your powers… Aren't you afraid that the curse would suddenly come out and hurt someone, just like the last time?_

_The sole possibility __makes__ me shiver. I can feel my heart racing faster with the memory of the accident. Suddenly I'm afraid, terrified. He's right. What if I accidentally release my powers and bad things happen? I want to reach for my gloves, but I see my father holding them._

—_P-papa, please… give me my gloves—I say with a desperate voice._

—_No, you're right, they're dirty and you need practice controlling the curse. Just remember: Conceal, don't feel. You'll be fine._

_I know I'll be fine, but I'm not worrying for me, I'm worrying for him, what if I hurt him? What if I kill him? I feel the room temperature dropping quickly and I see ice spreading through the fork and the plate. I close my eyes and start repeating papa's words in my head: Conceal, don't feel. Conceal, don't feel. Conceal, don't feel. Conceal, don't feel._

_It's useless. I can sense the icicles forming and the frost quickly covering the whole room. Now I'm breathing heavily with fear, fear of hurting my dad._

_My worst nightmare __comes__ true. Suddenly I hear a shriek and open my eyes to see papa gripping his left shoulder with one hand, which now is covered with blood, result of an icicle drilling it. I quickly get up and approach him, completely forgetting about the danger of my curse._

—_P-papa I… I'm so sorry, I-I didn't mean to hurt you. Are you OK?_

_Dad gets his hand off his shoulder and I am able to see the wound. It isn't as deep as I feared, just a little scratch. I sighed in relieve and smile at him. Once the fright have passed I feel a lot better and the ice starts to melt. Papa kneels down in front of me and grabs my right shoulder, I can't see his expression because of the darkness, but I think he's just calming me._

_However, just when I'm thinking everything is all right, papa gives me a hard punch at my __stomach__. I can't breathe, it hurts so much. Ice spreads around my feet. He only gets angrier and beats me again, making me gasp for air._

—_How dare you, little bitch?!—he yells and takes one of my small arms into his firm, almost hurtful, grip—You wanted revenge? You wanted to kill me and scape?_

—_N-no, please papa, I swear it—I'm crying now, I can feel my tears—Please, It was just an accident. _

—_Do you really think I'm going to believe that?—He squeezes my arm harder and I cry. Then, with his other hand, he puts the glove on it._

—_P-papa, I swear, I-I… I didn't mean to hurt you—Now I'm panicking. I don't want him to beat me._

—_This is the second time you almost kill a family member!—He yells and I flinch in fear. He__then__ grabs my left hand and puts the glove on it—You are nothing more but a despicable criminal!_

—_I swear I didn't mean it! p-please papa, d-don't hurt me._

—_Oh–he says—So _you_ can hurt _me_, but _I_ can't hurt _you_? How fair is that?_

—_Please, I promise I'll be good._

—_Good? _Good_?! You can't be good, you're a terrible daughter. At first I thought you _had_ a curse, now I know you _are_ a curse. You don't even listen to me, you are incapable of follow the simplest orders. I told you to _conceal_. I told you _not to feel_. And what did you do? What did you do?!_

_He is squeezing my wrist hard and right now all I can do is sob, not even daring looking at him. That only makes him even angrier. _

—_What are you gonna do from now on?—he asks, but I still do not answer—Answer me!—His grip gets impossible tighter. I'm trembling, from fear and pain._

—_I will listen to you!—I shout—I'll obey you! I'll remember every word you say! Please!_

—_What is the most important thing you have to remember?_

—_Conceal, don't feel!—My arm is hurting badly—p-papa, please… let me free, I-I promise I won't forget it!_

—_Of curse you won't—He pushes me to the ground, still holding my wrist. Now I'm laying facing the stone floor, I can't see him.—I'm gonna make sure of that._

_My heart starts racing. What is he going to do? I hear a metallic sound and I'm invaded by utter panic._

—_You won't be able to forget these words because they'll always be with you._

_Now I can see him, and, what's worst, I can see what he's doing. He has a knife on his right hand and is holding mi wrist with the other. He is approaching the sharp object to my vulnerable forearm and all I can do is to shut my eyes and wait to the pain to arrive._

_I feel it __cutting through mi skin and__ I scream. I try to get away, but he puts his knee on my back, keeping me from move. I feel tears going down my cheeks as he keeps making the wound bigger and deeper until I swear it's already reached my bones. _

_I feel he gets it out of the wound and I think, with hope, that maybe the torture is over. It isn't. Papa moves the knife to the spot just next to the wound and makes another perforation._

_He keeps doing this. He keeps hurting me regardless my cries, sobs and pleas. The nails of my right hand are digging in the floor. I can't take the pain, it's too much for me. I'm panting, gasping for air, trying to breathe and cry at the same time._

_I feel the knife digging in my skin again and again. I feel my blood flowing to the ground. I feel my wrist being squeezed till it becomes purple and I can't move my hand. I feel my papa's knee pinning me to the ground painfully and keeping me from breathing properly._

_Papa finally releases my tortured limb and I can't help but feel relieve, thinking the mistreatment has finally ended. I can't be more wrong._

_Papa grabs my right hand. I try to pull away but he only holds me tighter, hurting me. I see the sharp iron tip painted with red and flinch anticipating what is going to happen next. What did I ever do to deserve such a punishment?_

_He introduces the knife in my forearm and I scream even louder because of this new agony. He keeps going. I swear I've never feel such a pain during the nine years of my life._

_Finally, when I'm about to faint, he lets my wrist go. Then he speaks._

—_So, Elsa, what does it says?—he asked softly with a wicked tone of voice, but I don't hear him. The blood is rushing in my ears._

_He gets mad because I didn't answer him. He starts yelling but I can't do anything but cry because of the pain. Suddenly he approaches me and I feel an incredible agony at my right arm. I'm barely able to lift my head and see what's happening._

—_I asked you. What. Does. It. Says?!—I can see his shoe over my forearm, just where the wound is, trampling harder with every word. I scream and try to answer to calm his rage. I can't really see what's written, there is too much blood, I can only imagine it._

—_Conceal!—I scream and then I pant—Conceal, don't feel!_

_Unlike what I was hopping, he doesn't move his foot, he just lighten the pressure. Then he press even harder, yelling again._

—_What do you have to conceal, demon?!_

—_M-m-my powers—I'm barely able to say through the pain._

—_your _powers_?!—he applies even more pressure and I'm sure he is trying to break my arm—do you think you're _powerful_?!_

—_N-n-no—now I'm trembling uncontrollably from agony. _

—_Good, because you don't have powers. You have a _curse_, you _are_ a curse. Do you understand?_

—_Y-y-yes... P-papa, p-p-please.—I beg him to stop hurting me. _

—_Then say it!_

—_I'm c-c-cursed—he squeezes harder and I know what he wants me to say—I-I-I'm a c-c-curse._

—_Good-he finally releases my tortured arm—Don't ever forget that._

_I continue sobbing with my face in a pound of pure blood, my blood. Papa is about to grab the plate and leave when the door suddenly opens and Mama gets in. I haven't seen her since the accident, when he putted me here, and I can't help but feel pure joy._

—_What's happening here?—she asks with worry._

—_She hurt me—papa says angrily—I just punished her as she deserved._

—_You barely have a scratch—she says looking at my father.—I don't think it's enough reason to kill our daughter.—Those words are a bliss to me—I'm gonna take care of her wounds._

_As she approaches to me I'm only able to control a little my sobs, pant to catch some air and say with a weak voice:_

—_T-t-thank you._

_Then everything goes black._

* * *

Anna woke up in the night, as usual, hearing Elsa's screams in the other room. They were just as bad as the other nights, well, perhaps even worse, but that wasn't what made Anna suddenly feel totally devoid of life. Neither the hard sobs were the cause of the strange feeling at her gut, a combination of angst and sorrow.

No.

What were causing Anna's unpleasant feelings were the words.

Yes. Words.

Elsa was screaming words.

Not just any words.

—… p-please papa, d-don't hurt me…

_Papa? Did she just said what I think she said? So my uncle really was the one who locked her… and he used to hurt her… and she used to beg him not to do it. Poor Elsa._

—Please, I promise I'll be good!

Elsa's voice sounded desperate, helpless and panicked, even more than other nights, what made Anna think that probably the nightmare was way too much worst. She also supposed it was one of her earliest memories, because of the way she said "papa".

She had no idea of why Elsa was actually saying coherent words instead of the senseless cries she usually proffered, and she could've been glad of hearing her voice if it wasn't because of the way she was screaming.

—Please! Stop!—A wave of broken sobs—Stop... Please! I can't… I can't take it anymore! Please! I promise… I promise I won't forget it again!

Anna could tell that the memory involved an amazingly high amount of pain, and hearing that it was just because she forgot something tore her heart in two. Why Elsa had had to endure this?

Anna didn't realized she had being crying since the moment she herd the first words. She couldn't help it, she felt so bad. She cared too much about Elsa, until the point the other girl's pain was hers as well.

Anna stood up and went to the door of Elsa's room. She knocked and screamed to wake her up as she did every night, but it was useless as always. She fell in front of the door and soon the sleep took her. She didn't dream good things because of the dreadful screams filling the air.

* * *

Elsa's POV

_I wake up without opening my eyes. I feel softness beneath me. It's so comfortable. I almost can't remember the last time I felt the same. I was on a bed. _My_ bed._

_I can see light filtering through my eyelids, not the pale light of a lantern, but the warm and comforting light of the Sun._

_Sun._

_How is it like? How does it feel to be under its blissful light shower? I'm not sure. I have memories of it, but they are blurred and opaque, as if they were from another life._

_They are actually from another life, a happiest one. My life before the accident. _

_I carefully open my eyes, expecting everything to evaporate as an illusion. It doesn't, it's real. I'm in my room, the curtains are opened and the light of the rising sun is entering trough them. I smile. I'm not inside that prison anymore!_

_Suddenly the door opens and someone gets in. At first I think it is my father and I want to disappear, to be invisible, but it isn't him, it is mom. Mom. Just thinking about her always makes me feel better, but seeing her here, in my room, just a few feet away from me, is the best experience in the world._

_She approaches to me silently, maybe trying not to wake me up, and when she is beside my bed she looks me at my eyes, clearly surprised of seeing me awake. I smile at her._

—_Hi—I say._

—_Hi—she answers—How… how are you feeling?—she is uncertain._

—_Better than ever—I answer honestly. I see her dubious expression and I quickly try to explain myself—I haven't seen you in a while and now… this…just…—I have a lack of words to express my feelings—… I'm so glad to be here with you._

—_Do… do you remember what happened yesterday's night?—She is worried, I can see it._

_I remember. I wish I didn't though. It's like a huge dagger stabbed in my heart. Memories resurface. Memories of fear, ice, pain, blood, screams and more pain, an incredible amount of pain. I feel my eyes becoming wet with tears that promptly fall down my cheeks._

—_Yes—my voice is weak, expressing clearly the state of my mind—Yes, I… remember._

—_Oh, Elsa—she says pained, quickly wiping my tears—I'm so, so, _so_ sorry, you have no idea—Now she is crying too—I should have arrived earlier._

—_it's OK—I assure her—After what I did to you, I wasn't expecting you to come and rescue me.—_ _I didn't want to bring up the topic, afraid of her rejecting me, but it was necessary._

—_No, no, Elsa, you did nothing wrong. It was the curse, not you. I know you wouldn't hurt me on purpose._

—_B-but father says I'm a curse._

—_He was just mad because you hurt him. Don't believe him, you're not._

_That was exactly what I needed to listen at that moment, but it still wasn't enough to calm the pain I was feeling in my heart. What I need is a warm hug, because they can ease even the saddest thoughts. I am afraid of hurting her again, but I can sense the gloves covering my hands, completely restraining my powers, so I decide to search for comfort in her arms, just as I had done many times before._

_I tried to reach for her, but the moment I moved my arms to stand up, I feel the indescribable pain again. I cry and my arms fail to support me in the sitting position I was trying to take, so I fall in the bed again sobbing uncontrollably and feeling even worst._

—_Elsa!—mama says with her eyes full of worry and quickly puts the blankets away so she can see my bandages, which are now wet with blood.—Don't try to move your arms; your wounds would open again._

_I nod, still sobbing. Mama puts a hand on my head and starts stroking my hair with the soft skin of her fingers. This successfully distracts me from the pain and I'm even able to form a little smile, not completely happy, but not entirely false. _

—_Why did you move in the first place?—She asks._

—_I…—Would it be too pathetic to ask for a hug?—I wanted a warm hug.—I finally confess._

_She giggles and her gaze turns into a loving one._

—_You still remember that Frozen cartoon, little snowman?_

—_I could never forget it—I reply, grinning at the remembrance—So… Hi! I'm Elsa and I love warm hugs—I say with a goofy voice._

_Her smile grows wider and she reaches down to help me into a sitting position, taking care that my arms not support even a little amount of my weight. Then she holds me and whispers to my ear:_

—_I love you, Elsa._

_Those words unleash a wave of warmth and love all through my body, a feeling I hadn't been able to feel in almost three years. I hug her back, not caring about the stinging pain of my forearms, which now seems to be muffled to the point it's almost inexistent. This is overwhelming, mostly because I had been in almost absolute isolation for more than a year, and I can't help happy tears escaping from my eyes. I decide I want to be like this forever, I want to stop the time so nothing could interrupt this perfect, blissful moment._

—_I wish it could be like this all the time—I voice my thoughts._

—_Me too—She says and I feel even happier, if that was even possible—…B-but it can't—I feel a stab in my heart. _

—_What?—I break the hug so I can look her in the eyes. The atmosphere changes completely in just one second, and not for the good—Why not?_

—_You're dangerous—tears come down her cheeks. Again, I feel pain in my chest, but I'm sure it's not physical.—You can't fully control you powers yet._

—_Y-y-you mean…?—I can't complete the question, afraid from the answer._

—_You'll have to go down there again—She brings her right hand up to cover her mouth and she starts crying badly. I'm so astonished from what she says that I can't do anything now, my brain isn't even able to fully register her words.—I'm so sorry, Elsa._

_What she already said finally sinks in my head and it's as if some wicked giant had taken my dreams, my hopes, everything I live for, and had started dancing above them all turning them to lashes, to powder. No. Forget it. It's even worse. My own mother did._

_What could I do now? Get mad and demand her to take back her words? No, it'd only worsen the situation, even more if my powers are relished and I end up hurting her. My only option is to beg for mercy, so I hold her again, but tighter and more desperate._

—_Please mama—I say sobbing—don't let me go back there—My voce sounds too much broken, even for me, but it expresses perfectly my feelings.—I'll stay inside my room all the time, I'll never even wish to go out, just don't make me go back there. I'll prefer to die better than to return to that place._

_Mom hugs me back, also very tight._

—_Elsa… I wish it didn't have to be this way. I wish you were normal, so we could be together all the time. But you have this curse, and it makes all of this necessary. Don't you see we do it for your own good?_

_My own good? Really? Now I'm getting dangerously mad at her._

—_No!—I scream—I can't see how my own good could be to be locked up an empty dark room without even a bed, to be feed only once a day, and to be beaten at least once a week!_

—_You're right, it isn't for your own good. I wasn't aware about the conditions in which your father had you, that's why I talked to him. You'll still have to be locked there, because it's too dangerous otherwise, for you and the other people. However, he promised to feed you with enough food for you to support 24 hours of fasting. It can't be differently because it's dangerous for him to be with you more than once a day._

_I don't argue the last point, given what happened yesterday. Also I don't want him to have the chance to get angry more than once a day._

—_He also promised me he won't hurt you, in any way, from now own._

—_And you believed him.—it wasn't a question, I knew she did because of her tone of voice. I couldn't help sounding bitter._

—_He gave me a key. He said I could use it if I ever hear you scream, so don't ever hesitate to ask for help if he makes any harm on you. _

_Now I'm really, really mad. She is so trusting, and she trusts in the wrong person. I thought she had already learn the lesson when she confide my imprisonment to him only to find me latter in a pool of blood. _

_She probably senses me stressing because she keeps talking, trying to make me be fine with it._

—_I also insisted him to let me see you every year, in your birth day, and he agreed._

—_How can you trust him?—Pain and betrayal full my words—How can you still trust him after everything he did to me?_

—_Elsa, please listen…_

—_No!—I snap—I'm done listening to you. I'm done hearing you say that you love me, that you do it for my own good, because I know they're all lies! Lies that you tell yourself so that you don't feel guilty!_

_I can feel her turning as rigid as a statue, probably surprised for my words. I'm smarter and more perceptive than she thought. On the other hand, I'm shaking on rage and sadness and the hiccupping almost prevents me from talking._

—_I don't care if you believe them—I continue—but don't expect me to do so. Don't expect me to believe you love me._

_I regret to say it the moment those bitter words scape from my mouth. They hurt badly, and not just my mom, who is now crying harder, but they also hurt me. It's hard to think the person you love most don't feel the same for you. That's what make me say the next words, which are even more hurtful._

—_I don't love you either anyway._

_With that my heart brakes in two. What was meant to comfort me and make her feel less guilty have exactly the opposite effect; it makes me feel guilty for saying those stupid lies and clearly mama didn't took it well at all because she breaks the hug abruptly and stares at me with saddened eyes. Her next words are the finishing stab that makes my already damaged heart break into lots of tiny little pieces._

—_Your father was right. You're just a heartless monster. _

_The strength of the pain I feel as I hear it is so strong that my powers pass through my gloves and promptly the entire room is covered in a thin layer of ice. Her eyes are promptly filled with disappointment as she shakes her head, as if my reaction already confirmed her words. She stands up and gets off my room, only stopping a little while at the door to say:_

—_Good bye, Elsa._

_In that moment my mind finally connects with my body and I get up the bed, running to the door, reaching it just as it closes, panicking at the thought of not seeing her again. _

—_M-mama, wait!—I scream.—Come back, please! I didn't mean what I said! I love you, I love you with all my heart! I was just mad because you wanted me to go back there._

_I try to open the door so I can talk directly to her, but it's locked. I then hit it, not caring about the red liquid moistening the bandages or the unbearable pain that comes with it._

—_Please come back! I promise I'll do anything you want! I'll stay down there all my life! I'll never complain about anything! Just please, _please_, talk to me once again._

_I start sobbing with my forehead pressed against the wood of the door, feeling hopeless._

—_You'll return to the prison when your wounds are completely healed.—I hear her voice through the door, and it's colder that the ice I create, as if she were trying to hide her feelings.—I'll… see you again in your birthday.—She adds hesitantly._

_And with that words, she leaves. _

_I hear her steps echoing through the corridor as I'm left confused towards my feelings. Do I feel bad because she wants me to go back to my prison? Or do I OK because I'll get to see her again in my next birthday? I don't know. All I know is that I already miss her arms around my body, I want another hug, but nobody is going to give one to me. _

_I sit in the ground with my back pressed to the door and wrap my arms around my knees trying to give myself some comfort. But is useless, because when one is sad, the only thing that can makes you feel better is a warm hug from the person you love most, and that person just walked out of this room thinking I'm a monster, and I know, deep inside, that nor she, nor anyone, is going to hug me again. _

* * *

**A/N. Wow, this chapter was so large (4764 words), that's why the next one will be delayed, but don't worry, no more than a week (I hope).**

**Anyways, sorry for making Elsa suffer this much at that tender age. If it serves, I literally cried while writing it. I promise I'll make up for this in the next chapter which will basically just be fluff.**

**Thanks for all your reviews, favorites and follows.**

**See you :)**


	9. An almost normal day

**Chapter 9.**

Anna woke up when someone shook her shoulder softly for the fifth time. She didn't want to stop sleeping just yet, so she mumbled something while hitting the back of the hand that was touching her as if trying to scare away some annoying fly. The hand retreat, but then it returned to its previous place together with another hand that was now shaking her at her waist.

—Five more minutes—she murmured after a yawn.

The shaking became harder and harder till Anna had no option but to wake up. She rolled to her back and opened her eyes to meet the amazing view of the sky above her. No. It wasn't the sky. It was a pair of icy blue irises looking at her. She's seen those eyes before, and they had always had the same effect upon her; her cheeks blush, her breath becomes erratic and her heart starts racing like crazy. However, this effects seemed to intensify because of the closeness. They were so unusually close to hers that it even caused a warmth spread between her legs.

_Seriously? Am I all turned on just because a simple stare? _

—H-hi—Anna managed to say—D-did you want something?—Elsa shook her head—Oh… then what are you doing in my room?

Elsa giggled softly putting a hand over her mouth. The sight was so cute that Anna couldn't help but swallow, trying to calm her nerves. Then, the most rational part of her brain asked herself why was the girl giggling. Anna looked around her and suddenly noticed she wasn't in her room, but in the corridor outside Elsa's door. The irony suddenly hit her and she started giggling as well.

—I'm glad to see you're OK. I was worried tonight when I heard you screaming last night. Was it another nightmare?

Elsa's eyes, moments earlier happy, abruptly turned into saddened ones, too much pain reflected in them, and Anna almost cursed herself for making her feel bad. She was tempted to change the subject and make her smile again, but she was curious and maybe it could do some good for Snowflake to talk… er… express somehow what she was feeling.

Anna then made a motion to sit and Elsa moved away from her a little to allow her some space so their heads didn't collide.

—They aren't just nightmares, are they?—Elsa turned away her gaze, as if no wanting to answer this—They're memories.

Elsa moved a hand to her heart, wrapping it's waist with the other. Apparently the mere thought of those nightmare-memories made her feel real pain in her chest. She squished her eyes shut and nodded slowly. Anna was hoping to get a negative answer, but the truth hit her hard and a tight knot formed in her throat.

—Your father used to beat you.

Her voice was barely a whisper, but Elsa heard her anyways. The girl eyes became red and her expression was one of a person at the edge of tears, but not a single drop came out of the beautiful blue spheres. Anna supposed it was because she had cried all night, her eyes turning completely dry. She extended her arm trying to touch her, to give her comfort, but she stopped when her fingers where just a few inches away from Elsa's trembling body; she didn't want to cause the girl more discomfort.

—Do you… mind if I touch you?—She asked, immediately feeling silly because of the question she had just made. It's not something you usually ask to a normal person, but then again, Elsa wasn't normal.

Elsa looked her in the eyes, her stare revealing a hint of confusion and something else Anna couldn't quite define. Hope? Longing, maybe? Or she just wanted so badly and affirmative answer from Snowflake that she was reading in her expression something that wasn't there?

Suddenly Anna was evolved by a pair of slim arms, platinum blonde hair tickling her chin and hot breathing passing through the clothing of her shoulders. Anna was taken aback by this sudden contact. Sure, she had hug Elsa the day before, but she had put resistance, besides, this was the first time the blonde had initiated a so intimate form of physical contact. Anna hugged her back tightly, smiling at the girl's actions.

—I take it that you liked the hug I gave you yesterday—She said giggling a little—Don't worry there'll be plenty more. Actually, I think I'll hug you every day for the rest of our lives if you want.

Elsa nodded, pressing her body towards her even more.

—OK, don't worry, I'll always be here for you.—Then, remembering the screams she heard at night Anna added:—I'll never let anyone hurt you again. _Never_.

Elsa untangled their bodies, but kept her hands at her shoulders, and looked at her eyes very intensely, thankful and loving, and also surprised. Then she opened her mouth. Anna waited, her heart beating faster with anticipation. Was she finally going to talk? But no sound came from her throat, and a frustrated expression showed on her face. She wanted to say something, Anna could see it, but she just was incapable of it.

—It's OK, you don't have to say anything—She assure her.

However Elsa shook her head, her feelings being as clear as words in a book: She didn't have to, but she wanted to.

—You can write what you're thinking if you want. There's a notebook on my room, I'll go get it for you.

Elsa shook her head, stood up, ran to Anna's room and came out holding a note book and a pen. She removed the pen's cap, holding it with her teeth and making a concentrated face Anna just found too adorable, then she started writing on the note book with a little bit of difficulty because she was standing. Anna got up and went by her side to see what she was writing, and when she reached her, Elsa was just finishing and showed the weird writing to her. Despite the awkward position she had written on, the words were surprisingly understandable.

_I'll protect you too. _

_I'll never hurt you. _

_I promise._

—Oh, Elsa!—Anna didn't think it twice, she just hugged her and felt a smile spread on her face as Elsa hugger her back. Her body felt so soft pressed against her, their breasts were actually touching, but she consciously tried not to think about it too much, since she wanted this to be just friendly, not sexual. She found that Elsa was taller than her, not too much, but still she was a little surprised about this because the girl always tended to bend while walking, and that together with her arms wrapped around her and her innocent and harmless expression made her look smaller.

Anna was very, very happy, because this was the first time she had express that she cared about her. Anna found it adorable and astonishing at the same time, because to her it was incredible that a woman who had clearly went through situations that would've made other people go crazy and lose all sense of love and affection, could still have positive feelings and show them to someone, someone who she actually cared of. This made all the tiredness she had been feeling since she found the girl worth it.

Suddenly Anna heard her stomach grumbling and reluctantly pulled away, not really wanting to end the embrace.

—I think we should eat breakfast, I bet you're hungry too.

* * *

They headed to the kitchen and Anna searched at the refrigerator for things to prepare a descent breakfast, but she only found milk, butter, marmalade and eggs. She started thinking about what she could do with this ingredients and an Idea popped into her mind.

—Do you like hotcakes?—She asked excitedly.

When Snowflake nodded Anna almost jumped and ran to grab the flour for hotcakes she had brought with her when she moved to the mansion, then she pulled out a casserole and was about to start making the dough, when she saw the girl staring curiously at every move she made.

—Would you like to help me?—She asked with a smile.

Elsa nodded and walked till she was in front of Anna, who then gave her the bowl, the flour and a cup saying:

—Here, take the flour, pour it on the cup until it's full, and then empty it on the casserole.

Elsa took the flour and did what Anna said, however she inclined the flour bag too much, making it spread on the table. She was startled by it, her eyes went wide and she looked at Anna with an apologetic gaze, but the redhead just giggled and told her:

—Don't worry, it's alright, I've done worst things at the kitchen. I remember the first time I tried to make hotcakes, I was eight years old and I was in my house having a sleepover with my best friends, and I said "Hey, why don't we make hotcakes for dinner?" They all agreed, and it was so late at night that my parents were asleep and didn't noticed about it, and I was like "I like chocolate, let's put chocolate on the dough, and honey, and maple sauce, oh look, I found a candy, let's put it there too"—Anna was acting as she was telling the story, only instead of pouring strange things on the dough, she was putting the right ingredients on it. It was so hilarious to see her strange faces and excitement that Elsa giggled behind her hand. This only encouraged Anna to keep going—And then, after we had mixed the strange dough of all flavors and colors, we somehow managed to turn on the stove, put a pan on top of it and spill the dough on it, then it all started to smell like smoke and my parents walked in to find a kitchen full of children, flour, milk and some other ingredients spread on the ground, and a stove fuming because of a strange substance burning on a pan. They promptly turned the stove off and asked for explanations, and all I could come with was "Well… it all started when a bunch of stones covered with moss came rolling and they turned into trolls and they wanted hotcakes, but we tried to stop them, that's why there are so many things spilled around, however they were stronger and made that strange thing that was on the stove." My parents obviously didn't believe me, so they punished me…

Anna was interrupted when Elsa's eyes went wide and covered her mouth to stifle a gasp that escaped from her lips. For a moment Anna was confused about Elsa's reaction, but then she suddenly understood what was going on inside her head and quickly ran to explain it.

—No, no, no, not physical punishment like beating me or something, actually they never in my life hit me, not even once. They just made me and my friends clean our disaster, it took a bit, but finally we let the place just as clean as it was before and we were regarded by real hotcakes my mother had made, not the strange abominations I was trying to do.

Anna giggled at the memories and Elsa smiled, every hint of worriedness that was in her face before dissipated. Anna then gave her the bowl containing all the ingredients and told her to mix it with a spoon while she was preparing hot chocolate and melting some butter in a pan, to fry the hotcakes on it latter.

Everything after that went just fine and they ate breakfast while Anna recounted other cooking accidents she had had on her childhood and teenage, earning a smile from the blonde every time she said something particularly funny. Anna blushed every time she saw that ever so cute beam and fought to keep herself from jumping over the girl and kiss her that very instant. Elsa looked so beautiful when she smiled that Anna made her new personal challenge to keep her smiling all day.

* * *

Anna had some things to do that day, but she wanted to spend as much time as possible with Elsa, and the only solution she could find was to make Elsa help her. First, she had to fix the little garden that was on the entrance path of the mansion, so she gave Elsa boots, gardening gloves and appropriate clothing, and found some for herself too, then she grabbed a pair of huge scissors made specially to prune the trees that were outside. Obviously no one had used the gardening tools in a while, because they were rusty and dirty.

Both girls headed to the little space full of plants and Anna looked around her wondering where to start. This was going to be a very long and exhausting day.

—So… what would you like to do first? Kill yourself trying to give form to those trees, or cut your hands by ripping off the weeds?—Elsa looked at her with a worried expression, and Anna giggled a little—Relax, I'm just joking… kind of—She whispered the last part.

Anna decided to get rid of the weeds first, so she told Elsa to grab them from the base and pull hard to get them off of the ground. The girl was reluctant about this, not wanting to kill the poor plants who didn't have the fault of not being ornate, but Anna told her that if the weeds didn't die the others and more desirable ones couldn't grow as beautiful as they should and the garden wouldn't look that much pretty, she told her that to achieve something, you should make some sacrifices. This Elsa understood and promptly she was working hard, pulling weed after weed.

In one occasion, Elsa was pulling very hard from a particularly strong stem, so when it finally got out of the ground, she was propelled backwards, soil and leaves flying around her while she hit the ground. Anna couldn't help but laugh like crazy at the sight of the blonde hair becoming dirty with grass and mud and Snowflake trying to spit out a leave that somehow ended in her mouth.

* * *

Finally, after several hours of ripping off as much plants as they could, they decided to take a break and drink some water. Anna couldn't help but notice that Elsa was sweating profusely, even more than herself, and that her cheeks were extremely red and, by the way she was touching her head, she could tell that she had a huge headache. She supposed it must be partially because of the heat of the outside and partially because the girl hadn't done any physical effort in years. She felt guilty and a little bit worried that maybe it had been too much for her, but as soon as Elsa drank some fresh water, she looked considerable better and Anna didn't worry anymore.

Anna decided not to get back to work for that day, and seeing how dirty they were, she figured out they may take a bath. The previous days they had both took baths by themselves, individually, but today she thought it would be a good idea to do it together, seeing the current state of Elsa's hair (it was actually black now, because of the mud, and had many leaves attached) and the fact she didn't look quite well just moments before.

So Anna told Elsa to wait for her at the bathroom as she went to turn on the boiler. When she got into the room she was surprised to see the girl fighting to get off of her voluminous gardening clothes, getting lost inside the big things.

—Hold on, Snowflake, I'll help you.—Anna said with a smile.

Then she pulled up the huge long-sleeved brown sweater, blushing a little when her fingers came into contact with bare skin, then, when Elsa was finally out of the outfit, she tried not to stare at her too much, but failed miserably.

—I-I'll fill the tub, y-you take off the rest of your clothes.

Anna then, got to the tub and opened the faucet, allowing the hot water to fall into the porcelain container, focusing hard on the drops of water just to avoid the temptation of turning her head to see the beautiful naked body behind her. She was so concentrated that when she felt someone poking her shoulder, she literally jumped up and quickly turned around, but she didn't noticed the soap laying on the floor beside her, so she stepped on it, tripping when it slipped on the wet floor, and she landed inside the tub in a very awkward position.

Anna would have felt the stinging pain on her head if she hadn't been distracted by the most beautiful sound she had ever heard. She opened her eyes, which she had closed while falling, and saw Elsa laughing. This time it wasn't just a little giggle, quiet and shy, but an actual burst of laughter, still hidden by her hand, though, but it only served to make her look cute, which together with the fact she was completely naked made her look totally ravishing.

Anna knew that if there had been any other person laughing at her in a situation like this, she would had felt offended and ashamed, and maybe even a little upset, but she just couldn't feel those things since this was the first time she had ever seen Snowflake laughing like this. She actually was proud of being the cause of Elsa's fun, well more like her clumsiness being the cause of Elsa's fun, and couldn't help but start laughing out loud as well.

They both kept laughing till their lungs couldn't take it anymore, so Anna got out of the tub, her clothes dripping and getting the floor even more damped (She hadn't close the faucet yet, and the water was now spilling off the tub), then she said:

—OK, enough laughter for now, get into the tub.

Elsa agreed and quickly submerged her body on the water, while Anna turned the faucet off. Then the redhead proceeded to unbraid her hair, just as the first time, while Elsa took a loofa and started washing her skin, but Anna noticed she had still the rough and dirty gardening gloves on.

—Take those gloves off—She said—They're dirty.

Elsa shook her head and continued doing her thing. Anna sighed and got up to approach to her and take off her gloves by herself, however, Elsa noticed it and quickly hided them under her legs.

—Please Elsa, you can't wash yourself with those things on your hands, they are so big and god knows what things they're stained with! They could have dog's crap for all we know!—She made a disgusted expression after that.—Besides I don't know what the big deal is, it's not as if your hands were going to attack you or me if they're not covered.—Elsa looked at her with a face that was clearly telling "That's exactly what they'll do".—Does it have something to do with you thinking you're a monster?—Snowflake just nodded, a pained and sad expression taking place on her face. Anna sighed.—We've talk about this, you're not! What would it take to convince you otherwise?

When Elsa didn't answer and just turned her gaze to the water to avoid looking at her, Anna knew it was useless to argue with her at the moment. After all, so many years of believing she was a monster weren't just going to disappear by simple words. So Anna gave up, instead of trying to convince the blonde otherwise, she just went out of the bathroom to find a pair of clean gloves for Elsa and returned as soon as she found them.

When she returned Elsa was staring blankly at the water, immersed in her own thoughts. Anna cleared her throat to gain her attention before speaking.

—I brought you clean gloves, so you can wash yourself without using that dirty things to cover your hands.—She said while giving them to her, but seeing she didn't reach for them, she added:—Let me help you.

Elsa didn't put resistance when Anna grabbed her left arm, which now was resting over her knees, to pull the glove off. The glove has very large, so much that it covered her limb until the elbow, so it was hiding the scars that were there in her forearm. Anna hadn't seen them since the cops took off the handcuffs three days before (The handcuffs also reached till her elbow, so she didn't saw them before, and after, the girl had always used long-sleeved shirts), and apparently Elsa hadn't either, because the moment her eyes landed on them, they became wet with tears, and she was about to cry, but she quickly regained her composure enough to grab the clean glove Anna was grabbing and put it on her uncovered hand, but the glove was short and couldn't even reach the first letter of the scar.

While Elsa started crying, Anna was shocked because now she had a new perspective about this: Elsa's parents had done this, maybe even when she was only a child, and she could project perfectly in her mind a scene of a platinum blonde little girl begging to her own father, or maybe even her mother, not to hurt her. Anna started crying as well, wondering why someone would do something so horrible. What only worsened the situation was Elsa's lips forming silent words: "Papa... no". Now Anna knew exactly who had done this, and a horrible idea started forming in her head.

—Elsa… th-the dream you had last night… was it about these scars?

She nodded and hid her head between her arms crying harder. Anna's heart broke in two and she didn't waste even one second to hold her tightly, trying to give her some comfort. The temperature descended and Anna started shivering badly because her clothes were wet, but she didn't care, at that moment she just knew that Elsa needed her, and it was all that mattered to her.

Finally, after several minutes, Snowflake stopped crying and wiped away her tears, giving an apologetic look to Anna. Anna caressed her cheek and gave her a little smile.

—Well, now that you finally stopped crying, take off your other glove and continue with your bath.—She said with a soft voice, more asking than demanding.

Elsa did what she said, throwing the dirty glove on the ground and shoving her hand on the clean one Anna gave her. Of course this reveled more scars, but she was done crying for today. Anna then noticed that too much time had passed and that the water was probably almost cold right now, so she introduced her hand on the water to check on the temperature. She screamed with surprise and withdraw it quickly when she felt how cold it was, probably as cold as the water of a frozen lake.

—What the…?—She said wondering how could it have happened. There had been too much situations evolving decreasing temperatures and ice since she arrived to consider them as just coincidences, and the explanation about being near the North Mountain just couldn't cover them all. Then she saw Elsa looking totally guilty and forming words with her lips: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry".

_Do these strange phenomena have something to do with Elsa in some way?_

_Yeah, of course, she could be a cryokinetic sorceress who can alter the climate. You really should sleep a little more, you're turning crazy, just look at what you're thinking!_

Anna shook her head trying to get rid of those ridiculous thoughts and suddenly remembered the blonde girl was still sitting on a tub full of freezing water.

—Oh! I'm sorry!—She said taking her by her arms and helping her to stand up and get out of it.—I don't know what happened, probably just the boiler being damaged, but whatever, I'll just prepare another bath for you, OK?

Elsa nodded and Anna promptly proceeded to prepare more hot water for her.

* * *

After both girls took a bath, Anna prepared the meal and they both ate. Then Elsa went to the library to read some books and Anna, meanwhile, used her laptop to search on internet about something that could cause the drops of temperature that had been plagued the mansion all this time. She didn't find anything useful, all were either crazy explanations that recurred to paranormal activity or magic to explain it, or simple answers like the climate changing and some things like that, nothing believable.

Finally, after hours of searching, she decided she wasn't finding anything any time soon, so she went to the library to find Elsa and asked if she wanted to watch a movie with her. The girl agreed and they both sat on the sofa, in front of the T.V. watching some romance movie while eating popcorns that Anna had prepared on the microwave.

One hour after, both girls fell asleep, Anna's head laying on Elsa's shoulder, because of how worn out they were due to the intense day they had had. It was a good thing, because, even if they didn't know it yet, the next day was going to be very _reveling_ and full of emotions.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the delay, I just had a lot to do, with all those exams and homework to even try to write something, and then I caught a cold :P**

**So, what do you think that will happen next? Say it on your reviews :)**


	10. Fear and ice

**Chapter 10.**

Anna woke up by the alarm with her head in the softest pillow she had ever lie on. She didn't remember having a pillow like this on her room. It also smelled amazing, so fresh, like mint, but better. She rubbed her head against it, enjoying the sensation it brought to her and she decided she didn't want to wake up just yet, so she stood still with her eyes closed, delighted by the sensation of calm.

Suddenly she felt the pillow moving, raising and descending with a stable rhythm. Then she noticed a soft breeze moving her bangs a little every time the pillow descended. It was odd, it felt as if the pillow were breathing. Wait. Breathing? Pillows don't breathe, people, on the other hand, do.

Anna opened her eyes to see if her suspicions were true, and she blushed deeply at the sight. Somehow, during night, she had managed to end practically on top of Elsa with her head resting directly on her boobs (The soft "pillow" she had felt before), her arms wrapped around the girl's body and with her legs entwined between hers. Anna kept staring for a while in awe. Elsa looked so peaceful and happy with her eyes closed and her lips curled up in a small smile. The sight made Anna happy, knowing that the reason of the blonde's calm sleep was probably her presence.

However, she tried to get up because the position in which she was, was inappropriate, but Snowflake's arms were holding her, preventing her for moving on the slightest. She'd have to wake her up is she wanted to get out of the couch.

_Though I don't really want this to end. It's like heaven._

_You perv. Don't forget which day it is._

_Oh, shit._

Anna had completely forgotten about the date with the doctor they had at seven, she'd have to get up now whether she wanted to or not.

—Elsa—She said shaking her right shoulder with one of her hands—Pst, Elsa, wake up.

Elsa mumbled something in her sleep, but didn't open her eyes. Anna shook her again and this time she stretched her arms, unwrapping them from Anna, and said something like:

—Mmmhhm An...Annh... ah.

Anna's heart literally stopped at that moment. Elsa had said her name. It had been the first word the blonde had said since she met her that wasn't a product of horrendous nightmares, though, it still had been said in that threshold between being asleep and being awake.

Anna was incapable of doing anything because of the happiness that brought to her heart that simple word pronounced by those soft, pink and perfect lips. In that moment Elsa opened her eyes and stared at her, their eyes meeting. Elsa's eyes were as beautiful as they had always been, but there was something in them that Anna hadn't seen before. It was a combination of peace, happiness and warm... and Love, and it was directed to her.

Elsa brought her left hand up to her eyes and rubbed them to scare the sleep away. The sight was so adorable that Anna had to refrain herself from peppering kisses all across the girl's face. She instead decided to talk to her.

—Hello Snowflake. Did you sleep well last night?

Elsa nodded, still robbing her eyes, then all of her movements stopped and she looked at Anna smiling. Anna smiled back and suddenly she felt two slim arms wrapping around her body, pressing her tightly against Elsa. Anna was really enjoying it, but she knew they had to get up now, so she quickly hugged her back and let her go just as fast, getting up from the couch.

—C'mon Elsa, you have to wake up because the doctor is going to see you today. We still have a few minutes to get dressed, but we really should hurry up.

Elsa got up and followed Anna to her bedroom, where she gave her some appropriate clothes (Blue jeans, a white shirt, a dark blue hoodie, socks and tennis shoes), then Elsa got to her own room to change while Anna did so too. When Anna had finished, she went to wait for Elsa outside of her bedroom door, and the girl didn't delay too much. Anna kept staring for a moment at her as usual. She could never get used to the blonde's gorgeous body, which was clearly accentuated by the tight jeans that covered her pair of perfect legs.

Anna knew she couldn't keep standing there drooling all day, so she told her to follow her and walked to the main entrance, however, she stopped when she went through the door and noticed Elsa was no longer at her side. The redhead turned around and saw her standing a few steps behind the door, eyes wide with fear.

—What's wrong, Elsa?—She asked.

Elsa just shook her head and stepped back, clearly afraid. Anna didn't understand what was wrong, after all, the day before they had get out from the house to work at the garden, so she was sure the blonde wasn't agoraphobic or something. She went to where Elsa was and took her arm saying:

—C'mon Elsa, let's get into the car so we can make it to the doctor at time. It's already late now.

Elsa shook her head again and pulled her arm off of Anna's hand, receding to the safeness of the mansion. Anna then assumed the girl was afraid of going to the outside word for the first time, maybe in forever, and decided she had to convince her that it was OK, that it wasn't dangerous at all.

—It's OK, Snowflake. You'll be safe, I promise. Now we really should go.

Anna tried to reach for her again, but the girl continued receding, completely terrified by the idea of going somewhere farther than the entrance door of the house. Anna looked at her wrist clock and sighed, it was 6:47AM, which left them only 13 minutes to arrive to the hospital, and the way there was at least 30 minutes long without traffic, but Elsa didn't seem to be going outside any time soon by her own and she really didn't have time to convince her.

—Look, Elsa, I'll give you two options. You'll get into the car by yourself or I'll put you inside by force. You choose, which will it be?

Elsa looked at her for a moment, with a gaze even more scared, skin sweating and body trembling from fear, but Anna failed to notice that because the girl turned her head towards the inside of the house with clear intentions of running all the way back to her room, but Anna wasn't going to allow it because she was sure it was just a slight fear to the unknown and that it'd go away once the blonde faced it. That's why the redhead quickly grabbed her right hand trying to stop her, but Elsa managed to get out of her grip, not without losing her glove in the process.

Anna stared at the white glove she was holding on her hand and then towards Elsa, who was no longer trying to run away, but standing there even more scared (if that was even possible), alternating her gaze between her bare right hand and the glove in Anna's power. She was obviously getting more anxious at every passing moment, looking at her slim fingers as if they were time bombs which could explode at any moment. Anna decided to take advantage of the girl's phobia to have her hands uncovered.

—Let's make a deal—She said—I'll give you your glove if you go out there and get into the car.

Elsa looked at her for a moment with pleading eyes, she even pouted, and for a moment Anna almost gave up, it was nearly impossible to her to resist that pair of big puppy blue eyes, but she knew that Elsa was her responsibility and that she had agreed to take her to the doctor when necessary, and those studies were clearly necessary and urgent, since they would determine more precisely Elsa's health condition and if she needed any special treatments or medication. Convincing herself that it was for Elsa's own good, she started walking towards the entrance saying:

—I'll wait for you in the car to give you your glove.

Elsa stood there for a moment, changing her weight from one foot to another, unsure of what to do. Anna noticed this and smiled thinking she had won, but then she heard steps getting farther from her, at first slowly and then faster, till it was almost a running pace. She turned around to see a blonde girl running at fast as she could away from the exit. Anna quickly proceeded to follow her, trying to catch her, determined to bring her to the doctor.

—Elsa, wait!—She screamed while following her—Don't do this more difficult, please stop acting like a little girl!

Elsa didn't stopped, and Anna almost thought she wasn't going to catch her, but fortunately for the redhead, there was a pair of shoes in the middle of the corridor (Left there by Anna, who wasn't very organized), which made Elsa fall to the ground, giving Anna enough time to reach her.

—Are you alright?—She asked concerned by the blonde's fall while walking towards her—This wouldn't have happened if you had listened to me and just get into the car since the beginning. Now c'mon, let's get going.

Anna gently touched Elsa's shoulder, wanting her to turn around so she could help her getting up, however, the blonde turned around in fear, retreating from the touch with so much fear that her eyes didn't show signs of recognizing the other girl. It was when Anna knew something was really wrong and that it was a serious matter, but it was already too late.

In that moment, icicles raised from the floor crating a barrier between the two women, almost touching Anna, but stopping less than an inch away from her face. Anna stood petrified, not daring to move, completely astounded and confused of what had already happened. Her mind couldn't process the sight that was in front of her eyes: a trail of ice coming from Elsa's right hand and ending on those sharp icicles that could've killed her it they here a little closer.

Elsa looked at her with wide eyes, literally drowning in fear and guilt, but she didn't move. Anna didn't know it, but she was waiting to see her reaction.

Anna stared at her, afraid of what she had just done, and only managed to let out a little:

—Elsa…

Her voice sounded shocked, afraid and lacked the usual tender tone with which she usually said her name. This was enough for Elsa to know she had screwed it up, so she got up from the ground, turned away and ran, not having the courage to look back at the redhead, who just stood still, completely shocked, not daring to follow her.

Elsa got to her room and got in, locking the door. Then she fell to the ground and started crying while holding her knees, and in that moment she felt again as that helpless little kid who was hated for being different by the ones she loved most.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry, it was a very small chapter, but I haven't had time to write these days, so this was all I could do, besides at least it was very important, right?**

**Also, thank you for all the follows, I can't believe they're more than 100 already! :D **

**You make me so happy :)**


	11. Knocking on a closed door

**Chapter 11.**

—¿Hello?—Anna said while picking up the phone at the living room.

—Anna?—Came a worried and masculine voice—Are you alright?

—Y-yeah, yes. I-I'm alright.

_Just a little too much shocked after having a… _strange_ experience._

—Dr. Jones called me. He said you hadn't arrived, and it's already half past eight. Did you forget about it?—He chuckled a little so that he didn't sound as if he was scolding her.

—N-no, actually I…

Anna frowned she didn't know what to say. She didn't like to lie, but she knew she shouldn't tell anyone about Elsa's powers, not yet at least. She was afraid of the reaction these magic would cause on other people, so even if she kind of trusted Hans, the truth was she didn't know what would he do if she told him the truth about them not going to see the doctor that morning, so she quickly tried to make up a story.

—I… got lost.

_Yes, that should do it._

—Oh… Do you want me to send someone to escort you to the hospital?

_Or not._

—Ehm… maybe another day? Elsa is quite stressed about going out of the house.—Well, at least that wasn't a lie.

—Is she OK?

—Yeah, still a little bit scared, but she is fine.

_Or at least I think so, she is locked in her bedroom and the last time I saw her she was almost having a panic attack and shooting ice out __from __her fingers. _

—Fine, then I think the best thing we can do is reschedule her analysis to another day. —Anna internally sighed in relief—Tomorrow is OK?

_Wait, tomorrow? What if she hasn't open the door by tomorrow? I don't want to fail going to the hospital again__._

—I don't know because today she acted very strange when we went outside. I don't think she is prepared to leave this house yet.

—I see… —He sounded pensive.—What do you suggest?

—I'll call you when I think she is better. Then we'll go to the hospital.

—I don't know, Anna. This is really urgent, and if you don't take her to the doctor, I'm afraid they'll have to take her to the refuge for missing people.

—But she is not missing—Anna was afraid of the sole possibility of someone taking her Elsa… er… _Elsa_ away from her—She is my supposedly-dead cousin. I have to take care of her.

—How do you know she's your cousin?

—It's a long story actually, but believe me: She _is_.

—OK, I believe you. But still, they could intern her or something.

—Then help me. Please, I don't want to loose her. She is very important for me.

Hans sighed.

—Ok, I'll try. I'll make some excuse, but we have to put a deadline, she'll have to go to the hospital soon.

—OK, how about two weeks?

_Yes, that should be enough time to convince her to get out._

—I'm sorry, but I think that isn't possible. One week will be the limit.

_One week?! But… fuck. OK, I think it's the best I__'m__going__ get, and she'll have to come out eventually, right? One week is enough time for that… I hope._

—… OK. I'll call you in one week or less.—She agreed.

—Fine, I'll see you soon, then.

—Yeah, see you soon.

Anna hanged up the telephone and collapsed on the couch, feeling totally exhausted. The events of the past hours had been very… disturbing, to say the least. She wasn't mad at Elsa, she knew it was partially her fault for pushing her too much, but then again, it wouldn't have happened is the blonde had just tell her… or maybe it would have happened anyways, who could ever believe it when someone tells you they have magical ice powers?

However, Anna knew these powers explained a lot; the ice that was covering her prison, the sudden drops of temperature, the ice in the girl's bedroom, the accident the previous day during bath, Elsa's fear of uncovering her hands, and finally, her imprisonment.

Anna didn't think, not even for a second, that locking Elsa up for 16 years was justified just because she had dangerous and terrifying ice powers, but at least now she knew her relatives had had a reason, a…—How is it said?—_motive_ for the crime. It wasn't enough reason for doing something so terrible to their only daughter, but at least they hadn't do it just because.

Anna was scared, just as she supposed her relatives had been when they found out about the girl's powers. She knew Elsa would never hurt her on purpose, but today's incident had proved her powers could get out of control when she was scared

Anna sighed, this was very complicated and stressing. She wanted to talk to Elsa, to see what they could do to solve this problem, but she figured out it was better to give her some time to calm down a little before trying anything, so she just kept sitting there, trying to make out her thoughts and define her posture towards Elsa's magic.

* * *

—Elsa!—Anna shouted while knocking at the door—Elsa please, open the door!

Anna had been in front of that door the last 30 minutes, knocking until her knuckles became red, pleading Elsa to come out or let her in, but no use, that girl didn't have any intentions of doing none of those.

—Elsa, what happened in the morning was... Well, I'm not going to lie, it was strange and at the moment I freaked out, but it doesn't change anything, I promise. Please, let me in.

Again no answer, and no signs of that damn door opening anytime soon. Anna sighed and banged her head against the white wood, not knowing what to do. How do you make a terrified ice caster get out of her shelter?

—Hummh... I suppose you're hungry, you didn't have breakfast, after all. I'll prepare something for you, maybe something with chocolate? Perhaps hot chocolate, or chip chocolate pancakes, or brownies, or... Maybe all of them? How does it sound?

Elsa of course didn't answer, but Anna's stomach certainly did, reminding her she hadn't had breakfast either. Reluctantly, she decided it was better to go eat something and return later.

—Fine... I'll go to the kitchen now. I'd love it if you joined me, so... I'll wait for you there, OK?

* * *

Many hours had passed, and Anna sat in a couch at the library. She had a book in her hands but she wasn't reading it, she was too concerned about Elsa's self-imprisonment to pay attention to anything else. There were three things that really were worrying her. First, Elsa hasn't come out in all day, not even to eat (although Anna has been insisting her every few hours), and Anna knew her health state wasn't the best and probably wouldn't support prolonged fasting. Second, she wasn't sure that isolation was a good thing for Elsa, and she was afraid that it would throw away all the progress they had made the last few days. And third, the state in which Elsa was when she last saw her was very concerning, the look in her eyes was as if she couldn't even recognize Anna, and the redhead was afraid that Elsa could hurt herself while being like that.

The problem is, she didn't know what to do. She was afraid of scaring her even more, or push her too much like in the morning, but she couldn't give her too much space either, because she wasn't OK and she could do something to herself. She decided to wait another day. Maybe tomorrow she'd have more luck with her.

* * *

Elsa was in her bed, just sitting there, replaying the events of the morning in her head again, and again, and again. She knew it was all her fault. If only she was normal. If only she didn't have an immense fear of going outside. If only she didn't have a reason to have an utter fear of going outside. If only she wasn't a curse. If only she was normal… then nothing of this would have happened, she wouldn't have resisted to get into the car, Anna wouldn't have grabbed her hand, removing her glove in the process, she wouldn't have been invaded by utter panic, she wouldn't have run, she wouldn't have fell, Anna wouldn't have touched her, Elsa wouldn't have turned around, terrified at the sole possibility of hurting her, so immersed in her fear that she didn't even recognized the familiar face, her powers wouldn't have been released and Anna wouldn't hate her.

_Anna._

Why Anna, of all people on the earth, had to be the one knowing about her powers? Why did she had to learn about them in the worst way possible? Why her life has been hell since the very beginning? Why she couldn't be happy for once? Easy, because she was a curse, a terrible monster with dangerous magic. She didn't deserve anything but pain, suffering, death. She didn't deserve Anna, just as she had never deserved her mother. She knew it. She had knew it since the day Anna had rescued her, but she had tried to lie to herself, to tell herself this time it would be different, that she'd never let her know about her powers, but those were lies and she knew it.

In that moment she heard a knock in her door. It should be Anna, probably she was there to take her back to the awful dark room where she had been during the past 16 years. She wasn't going to open the door. She wasn't going to return to that place. She'd preferred to die.

She remembered when her mother first knew about her powers, she was 3 years old.

Her parents had known she wasn't normal the time they saw her. That strange hair color, too pale skin and unnatural blue eyes, were all signs that had let them know something was wrong. Then, they had discovered she was more sensitive to hot than normal people and couldn't stay under the rays of the Sun too much because she'd get very bad sun-burnings. However, they had thought it was something similar to albinism, so they hadn't thought too much about it.

When she was two, she had discovered her powers, but she didn't know how to use them, so she couldn't cast ice consciously, and when she did, it was always one or two snowflakes.

Then, when she was three, at least she had learned to cast ice at her will, and what had she done? She had shown it to her mother, of course. She had thought she would like it, she had thought she would be glad, but she was wrong. Her mother was totally horrified and told her to never use them again and, most importantly, to hide them from her father.

* * *

—Elsa, please, open the door. You can't stay in there forever—She heard Anna's voice.

Elsa laughed internally. Yes, she could stay in there forever. She'd accepted it when she was five. It had been the first time her father had beaten her, before that, he'd always been good to her. True, sometimes he had yell at her, but only when he was angry, and he had treat her coldly, but that was his normal way to treat people. However, that day, it all changed.

She had done something, she didn't remember what exactly, maybe it was the time when she had broken the expensive jar that her great-grandfather had brought when he went to China, or maybe it was something else, what she remembered clearly is her father becoming as furious as she had never seen him before. He had yell awful things at her and he had said she wasn't going to play at the garden for two weeks, but the worst part had been when he had hit her. No one had ever hit her before, so she didn't know that kind of pain, sure she had fell and crash toward things a few times, but that was nothing compared to her own father inflicting pain to her. The emotions were too strong that her powers had gotten out of control and, without knowing, she had made it snow inside the house.

It hadn't been a snow storm, just a few snowflakes falling over her, but it was all it took for her father to know she was a monster. She remembered him grabbing her arm and practically dragging her to her room, slamming the door behind her and locking it. He had told her that it was too dangerous for her, and mainly the other people, to let her be free as if she was a normal human being and that she would have to stay there at least until he found the cure to her curse.

Elsa had cried, begged him to let her out and promised she wouldn't use her magic ever again, but he didn't listened. That same day, he had fired the butler and the house keeper, to make sure no one would know about the monster her daughter was. Later that day, when her mother had returned from her monthly cloth shopping, he had told her about everything and she, of course, had denied knowing about her powers before. Her parents, then, had decided to keep her on her room until they could find someone who could help them to remove the magic, but they didn't want negative blurb about them keeping their daughter as a prisoner, so they just had reported her as missing to the police and, after a few months, they had even made her funeral, saying she was most likely dead.

Elsa had suffered a lot the first days, knocking desperately on the door until her little hands became sore, pleading to go outside every time her parents passed next to her room, but it had seemed as if they had frozen hearts. However, her mother had felt sorry for her and had bought a television and installed it in her room, also she had bought her books and teached her how to read, and she had spent a few hours per week playing with her.

After a year she had get used to it and had started to think that maybe a whole life spent just inside her room wasn't too bad if her mother was there for her. However, it hadn't been for long. After a couple of years things had started to change for bad.

* * *

—Elsa, what happened in the morning was... Well, I'm not going to lie, it was strange and at the moment I freaked out, but it doesn't change anything, I promise. Please, let me in.—She heard Anna shouting outside the door. It didn't matter what she said, she wasn't going to open. She knew that her magic was dangerous and that people usually got too scared at the sight of it that they would more likely try to kill her. Anna wasn't like everybody, she knew she wouldn't kill her, and she doubt she would put her inside the prison again, but she had thought the same about her parents, and she had been wrong.

* * *

She was six when her father had finally find someone who said he could help her with the course. What was his name? Weasel-town? Well, that funny old man, who was very charismatic at first sight, was going to be her worst nightmare. He and his men had made some experiments to her, some of them painful (in one occasion they had broken her arm to see if she could still cast ice with a broken bone), and finally, after a year, they had told her father that there was no cure and that the safest option to everyone was to lock her somewhere safer and keep her inside forever.

Weasel-town had helped to construct her prison. He had been very glad when her father had told him about the secret passage that led to a camber designed to contain food stocks in case there was a war or a famine (It had been built by a very… forehanded ancestor), but he said that it needed some adjustments, so he had made some magic symbols that, supposedly, would help her conceal her magic, and had put warning words in the walls, in case that one day someone found the passage. It had took him a year to finish it all, but finally the prison was ready to hold its monster.

What Weasel-town hadn't expected, though, was her mother standing up for her, saying that it was inhuman to send a child to that horrible place, and that she wasn't going to allow it. To her surprise, her father had agreed with her and had said that, while her room was still enough to keep everyone safe, he didn't see the need to send her down there. She supposed that, after all he still cared for her.

After discharging a very grumpy Weasel-town, the life in Arendelle mansion had return to normality. Elsa had been the best daughter in all the history and had been cautious of not casting even a single snowflake. Her mother had continued playing with her and, after some convincing, her father had even read a story for her a couple of times. She had started to think that everything would be alright.

However, around that time, her mother had gotten pregnant. It was good news to her parents but not to her, they both were afraid of her hurting the baby when he was born and, even if her mother had said that they could keep them apart and that nothing would happen, none of them believed it. Besides, Elsa really had wanted to have a little brother, someone with who she could play when her parents couldn't, and had insisted that she wouldn't hurt him if they just let her play with him sometimes. It had confirmed her parent's suspicions that they weren't going to be able to keep the siblings apart for too long. It had made the prison possibility more real.

One day her mother had talked to her about the possibility of send her to the secret room when her baby brother was born, and Elsa had plead her not to do it, promising not to even wish to see him ever, but she hadn't believed her, and had said that it was for the best. Elsa, obviously, had gotten mad and scared and her powers had gotten out of control. They were more powerful than what she remembered from the last time she had used them, and couldn't stop the magic in time. It all had ended with rays of magic ice flying in all directions, one of them striking her mother's prominent belly.

Elsa had known that something was wrong when she saw her mother falling to the ground, holding her stomach and trembling uncontrollably. She immediately had yelled asking for help, and when her father had arrived and saw the scene, the first thing he had done was hitting her so hard that her vision even blurred. Then he had dragged her to his studio and lock her up there, promising to kill her if she even dared to move. The next hours had been agony, wondering if her mother and brother were still alive and fearing her fate if they didn't. She had contemplated the family portrait, absorbing every detail, thinking that it was going to be the last colorful thing she was going to see before being killed or putted inside the prison.

When her father had returned, during the night of that very day, he had opened the door and beat her as he had never done before, even after she had told him that everything that had happened was an accident. She had ended up with multiple bruises and cuts all over her little body. When he seemed satisfied with his work, he had told her that her brother was dead, but that her mother had been able to resist her attack and was in the hospital, however, she wasn't going to be able to have more children. He had said she was a monster and that she didn't deserve to live, but that he was so merciful that he wasn't going to kill her.

Then he had gave her a pair of gloves, saying that Weasel-town had told him that they would help her control her powers. Once she had put them in her hands, he had opened the door to the secret passage and dragged her in. Every step had been torture to her sore body but she hadn't complained, not even once, knowing it was going to be worst if she putted any amount of resistance.

Finally, after what for her had seemed an interminable set of stairs and a very scary passage, they had arrived to the room. He had practically thrown her inside, not sparing her a second glance before shutting the iron door. At first she had been too pained to even look around, but once she did, after a few minutes of being down there, she had been invaded by utter panic. The place was so dark she couldn't even see her palms if she put them in front of her, and it was so lonely and there were strange sounds, probably made by the water running on the pipes, but in the state of mind in which she was, they had seemed like laments of pained souls and chains dragging.

She had run to the door and knock and yelled, saying she didn't want to be there, pleading for someone to help her, but no one heard her, no one had come in her aid. However, she had kept knocking all night, and the next day and many days, until she had gotten too exhausted to even think.

Elsa didn't want to live that again, and she was sure she wasn't strong enough to support even a night inside her prison, so she wasn't going to open the door. Never. That way, she wouldn't hurt Anna and Anna wouldn't put her in the prison. It was the best for both.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the delay, I really have no excuse, except that I didn't know how to start this chapter, but here it is. I hope you enjoyed it. :)**

**And, as always, thank you for all the fav, follows and reviews.**

**PS: I'd appreciate it if you check my other stories. They're also Elsanna.**


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